


Under Earth

by Sandsstill



Category: Zootopia
Genre: Other
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-24
Updated: 2018-11-21
Packaged: 2019-08-06 18:05:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 17
Words: 80,985
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16392521
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sandsstill/pseuds/Sandsstill
Summary: Foxes don't exist. What happens when an extinct mammal suddenly reappears on the scene?





	1. Chapter 1

[](http://tinypic.com?ref=vo3las)

Under Earth  
“Stupid buffalo, stupid lion, stupid Zootopia, stupid brothers,” Judy grumbled as she kept digging at the earth. It was probably better that she was angry because she worked harder and faster that way anyhow. It did at least keep the fire going that was the current reason for her continued efforts. After being made a laughing stock in Zootopia and those two city officials making a spectacle of her failure as an officer and the mammal inclusion program, Judy had come home with her tail between her legs so to speak and wanted to hide from the world for a while. Maybe change her name and move to another country as bad as some of the mammals had mocked her for the failure.  
It was bad enough they thought she couldn’t succeed to begin with and when everything started going crazy in Zootopia with savage predators she had nearly been killed by a large cheetah in Central Square. It just proved the fact that small prey mammals shouldn’t be in law enforcement in the eyes of the world. No, don’t mention the fact that she saved several other mammals in the process. “Just stop thinking about that and focus on this,” she growled again as she dug into the earth. At least she could get lost in work here. That didn’t keep her from wanting to choke her brothers for this lovely practical joke. It had taken her two days to dig this trench out for the placement of the new watering and cistern system in one of the fields, and when she woke up and found it filled in the next morning… fuming wasn’t a strong enough word for how angry she had been. They had denied it profusely but she knew those ding dongs well enough.  
The feeling and smell of the warm damp earth between her fingers and clumping under her claws was a relaxing factor as she continued moving the earth. Some things were just ingrained in rabbits. The fact that she had already dug this up the day before and everything was loose helped the work go faster but it was still irritating to repeat a job twice. Another swipe and throwing dirt out behind herself and she wiped her brow sighing before she dug in again and furrowed her forehead when she hit something solid. “What the?” A few more pawfuls of earth and she crinkled her nose at the foreign scent and red color shining in the sunlight. “Red?” her bow rose and panic set in as she frantically started digging out the ground around her. A primal surge of fear had her blood racing but it couldn’t overcome the overwhelming curiosity and want to discover, or drown out the fact that this shouldn’t be here.  
Red fur? It was almost unheard of in any species other than red pandas, and there weren’t any of those anywhere near Bunny Borough. Predators had begun to leave Zootopia after fear had set in months ago and even with Lionheart still being the mayor the staggering opinion of public polls were sure to cost him the upcoming election so Bellwether was running as a contender and already had a good lead. Judy jumped back when she hit something wet and cold, looking to see a purple nose sticking out of the dirt. A few more swipes revealed a long snout and closed eyes and she cringed as she shrank away from whatever kind of predatory was in front of her. The doe hopped back squeaking as a puff of air shot from the nostrils and the earth that was clumped around it. It’s alive?  
Judy crawled forward on all fours with her nose twitching and the scent of blood had her scrambling looking around as she moved more of the earth. When the mammal half under her groaned as she brushed away a wet clump from his shoulder and found an open wound she darted from the trench and started running back to the house. It didn’t matter what it was or how it got there, she wasn’t going to let anyone die if she could help. After reaching the entrance of her borough Judy stomped her feet in a rapid pattern before she ran to the barn. Thumping in certain patterns would alert others to a problem and she had just sent out an all points alarm to the leaders under the house. There was no way she was going to be able to move a mammal that size without help and even her brothers wouldn’t be able to pick it up and carry it alone. As she climbed into the tractor several bucks rushed into the barn huffing. “What’s going on?” a brown buck dressed in overalls asked as he rushed the tractor she was climbing into.  
“Juno, get Randal and Steven too. There’s a mammal out in the south field that’s hurt and too big to move. Jake and Allen, go tell Ruby and Amber to get the medic room ready and get all the younger kits out of the main rooms.” They all looked at her like she was stupid before she screamed “MOVE!” The bucks scattered as the tractor rolled over the hay and through the doors, slowly trekking past the little farm house and Borough. Judy wasn’t a patient mammal and the speed of the tractor had her foot thumping against the cold steel as she chewed her lip. She knew her brothers were going to get there before her as slow as she was moving and was bouncing when she finally came into view of the trench again. Seeing her brothers looking into it with lifted brows and scratching their heads had her rolling her eyes as she stopped the trailer and then hopped out.  
After admonishing her brothers for not attempting to do anything she hopped into the trench and swiped the dirt away from the larger mammal as they all gawked at it. “What is it and how did it get in there?” Juno asked as he looked over the edge. “It doesn’t matter what kind of mammal he is or how he got here, he needs help,” Judy replied as she tried to get a grip under the larger mammals arm.  
“How do you know it’s a he?” Juno asked as she turned her head to him with a flat face. The buck shook his head and raised his paws. “Don’t answer that, I don’t want to know.”  
“Just get in here and help me get him out of here and on the tractor.” After her and her three brothers struggled getting him out of the trench they all had to stop and catch their breath after fighting with the dead weight. Randal and Steven were Judy’s younger brothers and nearly identical grey bucks who were almost inseparable. The jeans and loose shirts they were wearing with matching ball caps were both pulled off as they stood looking over the red fur of the mammal they had hauled from the earth. Juno was shaking his head again as Judy stood up bracing her knees. They were the largest and strongest of her brothers, and also the ones left in charge while her parents were off at the largest farmers market trying to secure another booth for the season.  
“I don’t know about this Jude. He’s some kind of predator and I’ve never seen anything like that before, and look at those clothes. It just looks like a bunch of rags tied around his waist.” Juno stood back scowling as the red furred mammal moaned.  
“It will take at least three hours for anyone to get out here to help him and I don’t know how bad he is hurt. Just help me get him to the medic room and Amber can tell us anything else and help him until someone else gets here.” After wrestling him onto the back of the tractor each rabbit was holding the weight of his limbs locked under arms as they carried him into the large farmhouse. A golden eyed tan doe stood gaping as they barely got him through the door.  
“AMBER! SNAP OUT OF IT!” Judy yelled and her sister shook herself as she opened the door so they could carry him into the medic room. The tan doe was looking him over wide eyed as they finally managed to get him onto a table that was a little too small. When another sister entered the room she froze and Judy rolled her eyes catching her breath. “Out if you can’t help Ruby.” The red eyed doe shook off the shock and Amber joined her shoving everyone out the door with Judy protesting until the golden eyed doe deadpanned her in the hall. Judy huffed and took a seat with her brothers in the living room as they all tried to figure out where he had come from, how he had gotten there and what he was. Even after an extensive search through their media connections they couldn’t identify what species he was.  
Several hours later Amber came back into the room pulling off a pair of bloody gloves and tossing them into a bag she handed to her brother. A stern glance around the room and all the others disappeared before she landed her eyes on the purple set in front of her. A quick motion to the said room and Judy followed her in finding the mammal in question under a sheet with his eyes closed and a thick belt wrapped around his muzzle. Amber tore off the coat she had been wearing and tossed it into a basket before she turned to a sink and was washing her paws. “Where’s Ruby and why does he have that thing on his face?”  
Amber turned around leaning into the counter as she rubbed her temple. “Ruby got upset and left; he has that thing on his face because he tried to bite her.”  
Judy went pale as her sister shook her head “It’s not his fault. He was in pain and scared and I wasn’t sure how much medication I could give him or what so I had to take a chance and guess when he woke up. That’s not what bothers me Judy.”  
Judy stepped closer to the red furred mammal looking him over as Amber stepped to the table with a bowl in her paw extending it to her sister. Judy looked in furrowing her brow at the chunk of metal lying in the murky water.  
“It’s a bullet.”  
Judy trembled in disbelief. Guns were outlawed a century ago and as she looked at her sister again shaking her head Amber sighed. “That’s not all. The only reason he didn’t bleed to death was because of all that dirt I had to clean out of the wound. It stopped the blood flow because it was so loose and soaked in forming a clot of sorts. Those things are bad enough Judy, but there is something else I don’t understand.” Amber looked back to the mammal on the table pointing to his muzzle. “His teeth, they are perfect.”  
When the purple eyed doe curled her forehead Amber stepped closer pulling his black lips back slightly to reveal perfectly white canines. “He has no cavities, no imperfections, and no sign of wear from eating processed foods. That can only mean one thing Judy, he’s wild.”  
“That’s not possible. There haven’t been wild mammals in Animalia for centuries.”  
Amber shook her head “There’s no other explanation for it, that and the fact that the noises he was making weren’t any kind of language I have ever heard. I don’t have any idea who to call about him.”  
“What do you mean?” Judy asked as she looked at the large patch on his shoulder.  
“Whatever he is he is unusual. I can’t say this without a guilty conscience but if they take him somewhere the chances he won’t end up in a cage as a lab subject or some kind of freak show are high. I’m not even sure if he is going to make it because the risk of infection is so high, but I’m not sure I should be trying to save him because of those possibilities either.” Amber held a paw out and Judy took the object she was holding. It looked like a simple flat stone with a string around it and she ran her claw over the grooves in it trying to figure out what it was. “It was around his neck. You are going to have to figure out what you want to do because Mom and Dad will be home in a few days and they will freak.”  
Judy looked around in thought for half a second and Amber was grinning as she squared her shoulders. “I figured. I’ll tell you how to take care of him because I’m still taking care of the kits and watching Addie is a pawful in itself. Did you get the trench back out?”  
Judy shrugged “Yeah for the most part, that’s where I found him under the dirt.” Her sister tilted her head and cringed. “I know, nothing about this makes sense or sits well.” Judy ran her claw over the stone again looking at the odd pattern. Something about it seemed familiar but she shoved it in her pocket before looking back to the mammal sleeping on the table. “Do we really need to leave that on him? It seems…cruel.”  
Amber pulled the sheet back revealing straps that were secured around his body down the length of the table and Judy cringed. “Remove it at your own risk, we don’t know anything about him and it would be better if there weren’t a lot of curious bunnies in her trying to peek in on him. I suggest since you have the field ready to take the next few days and figure out how to take care of him and what you are doing with him. I can help, but I can’t stay in here all the time.”  
After Amber had explained how to clean his wound and give him medications if he needed them Judy was left alone pondering over the red furred mammal in front of her. It wasn’t anything unusual for rabbits to have doctors in their families or keep a med room with supplies and medications, but trying to figure out what was safe and how to dose someone so much larger with the right amount was going to be the most difficult to try and keep an infection from spreading. He had gotten lucky in some ways. The bullet had grazed an artery but the dirt had sealed the wound after he had been buried. Judy couldn’t keep her mind from wondering on how he had gotten there. One thing was clear, he hadn’t done it himself. She pulled the belt off his muzzle looking at his teeth before she sighed.  
“What kind of trouble could you get into being what you are? Where did you come from and who are you Mr. Wild?”


	2. Chapter 2

After two days Judy was barely keeping herself on her feet. The red furred mammal had been a constant challenge, not only in regards to his size and caring for him, but due to the fact she had a small issue with another sibling. While the majority of the ‘clan’ Hopps kits were always in good behavior, there was one that no one could ever predict, and he had become fascinated with the odd mammals Judy was trying to care for. Or rather the odd noises he was making. Even Judy had been shocked by what or how he was creating them. Chirps, whines and something like a ‘chick’ sound each time he would suck on the side of his cheek would make odd beats and rhythms that often left her studying his muzzle in the moments he wasn’t fighting shivering and writhing in a state he wasn’t aware of. It was all centered around an odd clicking she still hadn’t figured out how he was doing. The closest thing she could resemble it to was a dolphin.  
Trying to shoo the small kit everyone affectionately called Addie out of the room while the mammal on the table was fighting a high fever and thrashing left her dead on her feet and patience worn thin, even with a kit who had been born Autistic and had significant social issues. The fact that he was enamored with the odd mammal was a curiosity in itself. By the time Judy finally figured out why he was so fascinated with the unidentified mammal still strapped to a gurney she was too tired to care. He had the ability to pick up patterns and see things others couldn’t but also couldn’t communicate his wants and needs clearly and had issues with emotional connections and being around others. Keeping him out of the room was almost secondary because of what was going on.  
Several factors had played into how things had happened. Judy had to stuff pillows under his feet because his ankles were hanging off the end of the medical table and his thrashing had nearly worn off all the fur around his ankles off and his skin was raw around the back of his heels. Amber had set up an I.V to keep his fluids stable, but he had ripped it out so many times with his jerking movement that it wasn’t an option anymore. Even keeping him strapped to the table for his own and others safety had caused issues when he still managed to wriggle enough to loosen them and after breaking the needle in his arm three times Judy had to get inventive about keeping him hydrated.   
Before his fever finally broke she had been forced to replace the belt on his muzzle after he had snapped at her several times when she was attempting to clean his wound. Oddly enough it made getting fluids into him easier because though she had tried several times it became apparent he couldn’t drink from a cup when he nearly choked on the water. That didn’t make doing it the only way she had found was safe any less awkward or uncomfortable; especially when Amber strolled into the room.  
Judy froze and narrowed her eyes on her sister who was wide eyed until a devious smile crawled up her muzzle. “Look at that, Jude is kissing someone like real people do.”  
Judy rolled her eyes as she pulled away from the long muzzle and wiped her mouth off. “Oh har har. This is the only way I’ve been able to get any water in him.” As she filled her mouth again to the point her cheeks were puffing out and pressed her lips to his again she heard a giggle from the doorway and fought not to shake her head at Ruby while she was slowly using her teeth to control the flow of water into his mouth.  
Amber was smirking watching her try to hold his muzzle still as he attempted to lick her through the jaw that was clamped almost completely shut. “You should be careful about how close you-”  
Ruby gasped and clung to the wall and Amber jolted as a pair of eyes snapped open for the first time. Judy froze and her ears pinked over as a pair of green lanterns locked with hers. Brighter and sharper than any ever green or pine needle she had ever seen or felt, they bore into her like a drill bit. Her ears fell and fur stood at the back of her neck as a rumble echoed through his chest in a threatening growl. She couldn’t move, and was sure she would have choked on the water in her mouth if she had been able to swallow just before his eyes rolled to the back of his head and closed again. For almost a minute no rabbit in the room dared to move before Judy finally pulled away and half sputtered on the water in her mouth before climbing down from the gurney he was on.   
A racing heart and cluster of fear weighed into her chest as she shook her head. “I need some help. I have to find out something about him and get him out of here, he could hurt someone.”  
“Judy,” Amber called and Judy turned seeing Ruby shaking before she rushed from the room. The gold eyed doe ticked her eyes between the door and her sister before she sighed. “We don’t know anything about him. I know this seems bad and I’ll talk to Ruby, but you have to remember he’s not awake right now. His body is exhausted and his mind isn’t really here. He may be wild, that doesn’t mean he’s not intelligent. He came from somewhere and from some form of society. They were poor excuses for clothing but he was wearing something and had that necklace on.”  
Judy raised her brow in surprise at her sister as Amber shrugged “I’m a doctor, and we are rabbits. Fear is ingrained into us as an instinct. You’ve spent more than two days getting him past the worst of it. I just think if you’ve already put in the effort you shouldn’t quit, you wanted to save him. He’s snapped at you several times and that didn’t bother you when you knew the reason for it. Plus I know why you are freaking out right now.”  
Judy clutched her chest with one paw and her other went to her cheek as Amber gave her an understanding and warm smile. “He’s not like the cheetah Judy. If that was the case he wouldn’t have been making all those noises or even tried to drink anything as sick as he was. He would have been growling and trying to be aggressive. Just give him some time. Mom called and said they extended their stay after they secured two booths to get everything set up so you got a reprieve on that.”   
Judy blinked as she shook her head “You didn’t tell them he was here?”  
Amber laughed “What was I supposed to say? Hey Mom, there’s some kind of wild mammal in the house, or he could be an alien of some kind because no one has ever seen anything like him before. They won’t believe it until they see it and there’s no reason to make them worry, at least not until they get home and you can figure out something about him.” The doe looked back at the bed shaking her head again “I’m not sure how you’re going to be able to figure out anything if he can’t talk though.”  
“The Necklace,” Judy mumbled to herself as she pulled it out of her pocket.  
“Got an idea?” Amber asked as Judy looked it over and pulled out her phone snapping a few pictures of it.  
“It looks kinda familiar for some reason. If I can do an image search maybe I can figure out what it is.”  
Both does watched her phone for several minutes while a search engine ran and Judy gasped as a picture popped on the screen. “That’s why it looks so familiar.” When Amber gave her a curious look Judy looked around in thought. “When I was in Zootopia I went to the Natural History Museum and this was one of their primary displays. It’s the only one they have ever found anywhere and they aren’t sure what it is. Look, they are almost identical.”   
“A lot of good that does then hu?” Amber asked as she curled her lip.  
“Maybe, I can send a message to a few professors and the curator of the museum and see if they know anything.” Judy frowned as she sat in a chair. “Then again, the name Judy Hopps isn’t exactly a way to get anyone’s attention.”  
Amber sat beside her wrapping an arm around her shoulder “Who said ‘the only things to fear is fear itself’?” The tan doe turned and rolled her eyes as she spotted a small black furred bunny trying to sneak around the table. “Addie- out!”   
Judy giggled at him when he ran out of the room as she leaned into her sister. “Thanks Amber. I’ll send some messages out and hope someone will answer; maybe if I include a picture of it it will help.”  
“Good, for now I think you should take a shower and get some sleep.” Judy looked at her with a curled lip as she laughed. “You smell like him and I’ll stay with him for a while tonight while you take care of yourself. He’s out of the woods but will probably sleep for a couple of days and you need to do the same. You can’t take care of him if you aren’t taking care of yourself.” Judy sighed as she agreed and made her way to the bathroom after getting a fresh set of clothes. She had already sent a dozen texts to different mammals about the odd piece of jewelry on the off chance one might respond but didn’t have high hopes. It wasn’t like anyone didn’t know her name. It was all over the news after the incident and she let the thought wash from her mind as the water washed away everything else.  
By the time she got back to the med room Amber had just finished changing the bandages on his shoulder again as she crawled into the extra bed on the other side of the room. Judy looked over at the odd mammal as Amber slid next to her sitting on the bed. “He should be out of it for the night. He’s still in pain and I finally figured out the correct dosage to give him so he will be comfortable tonight and sleep.” When Judy gave her a funny look she shrugged “I used the calculations for wolves in their adolescence. It’s the closest thing to his species I could think of that looked something like him. Apparently it was the right thing to do because he’s comfortable.” For the first time since he had arrived the mammal actually looked peaceful. There were no more fidgety movements, jerky motions or uncomfortable cringes on his face as his head rested to one side of the pillow he was on and his breathing was slow and without any strain.   
Judy was grateful for it as she slept through the night. The next morning things took a turn when her inbox exploded with messages as she tried to figure out why every single professor she had sent a message to had replied to her. It was just past nine A.M. and the mammal was still sleeping soundly so much so that he hadn’t even been interested in water, so Judy had let him be. Looking over her phone she couldn’t help but look at the odd piece of primitive jewelry again before she nearly fell off the extra bed she was sitting on as her phone rang with an unknown number.”Hello?”  
“Ms. Hopps?”   
“Yes?” Judy asked with hesitation as she looked over at the red furred mammal on the bed.  
“This is Professor Jake Aldrigsteit.” Why does that name sound familiar? “I am Animalia’s foremost leading Archeologist and the head of the culture heritage division. Where did you get that particular piece you have?”  
Judy kept staring at red fur as she ran her thumb over the odd piece in her paw. “I- it belongs to a friend. I’m just trying to find out what it is for him.”  
A silence on the line caused her to ask if he was still there before he finally responded again. “I need to see if that is genuine.”  
Judy curled her brow and puffed a breath. “I suppose I could meet with you in a few days.”  
“That won’t do Ms. Hopps. I’ll be at your home in less than half an hour.”  
“Half an hour?! Professor, we are rabbits, we don’t accept guest without notice and there is no way I can get everyone here ready to receive someone in that-”  
“Half an hour Ms. Hopps.” ~click~  
“What the?” Judy looked at her phone stewing. There was no time to think as she rushed through the house and found her two oldest sisters. Ruby took over caring for the kits and led them into another area so they wouldn’t be alarmed by an unannounced visitor as Judy threw on some clean clothes and asked Amber about the rest of the family. All her older siblings were working the fields or making sure things were being bundled for the harvest. Some were working on the farm equipment while others were making sure everything was ready to be moved and making invoices. As she finally got finished straightening herself and the living room Amber had tea brewing and Judy jerked as the door flew open. “Mom? Dad? I thought you were staying for a few more days.”Bonnie rolled her eyes as Stew stuck his arm out the door and pulled an older buck into the house. The old buck was chewing on his gums as he adjusted his glasses giving Stu a glare as his son shook his head and tossed his cap on a coat tree next to the door.  
“We were going to. Luckily your older brother stayed because Pappy caused a scene and we didn’t have a choice but to leave and bring him home.” Bonnie gave the older buck a dirty look as he leaned into his cane.  
“Dang predators were everywhere! Them things aint nothing but wild animals!” Bonnie sighed.  
Amber came back in sitting a tray on the table with tea and biscuits on it and her and Judy cringed as their grandfather kept grumbling. Bonnie raised a brow seeing the tray and a knock on the door drew their attention back to the door. Judy sighed as she rubbed her forehead “I’ll explain everything later I promise, just give me a few minutes.”  
Bonnie and Stu looked at each other as Pappy took a seat in an arm chair and Judy answered the door. The old buck was scowling as Judy invited a small cat into the house. He wasn’t much larger than Judy’s father and had a bright yellowish coat of fur with black spots and stripes through his fur. Judy had never met a rusty spotted cat before and the pattern on his fur that was showing had her blink a few times when she shook herself as he extended a paw. Introductions were made and the stiff collar of his suit made her wonder if he could sit down without choking himself. The guy looked like he might shatter if he moved wrong. It wasn’t that he was old, he was just-stiff. It was unsettling how formal and professional he seemed to be as he finally sat down refusing the tea and passing over pleasantries when he asked if he could view the object Judy had.  
Bonnie and Stu had taken seats on another section of the couch and watched as Judy pulled it from her pocket passing it to the cat. Amber left the room when she heard the back door open. Judy wanted to scream. Juno, Steven and Randal had come back from the field after seeing the cars pull up, and her brothers along with her parents were irritated at the company for several reasons. Unannounced for one, and the guy was bordering on downright rude, and his insistence and short pompous manner was off putting in itself. Until he pulled out some kind of eye piece and Judy saw him trying and failing at attempting to keep his paws from trembling as he examined the odd looking piece he was holding. “Where did you get this?”  
Judy could feel her parents and families eyes on her as she shook her head. “I told you it’s not mine. It belongs to a friend. I‘m just trying to find out what it is.”  
“Ms. Hopps, I must insist on taking it back with me. It doesn’t belong here or with you.” He curled his fingers around it squaring his shoulders as he stood and Judy’s brothers and father stood as she ground her teeth standing to match him.  
“Well it doesn’t belong to you and I told you it’s not mine, give it back. What is wrong with you?!” Judy had the ends of the strings still attached to it trying to tug it from his paw as her brothers and father all started clenching teeth and tensing muscles.  
Everyone was so focused on the cat that no one had noticed the old buck scowling as he shuffled out of the chair to the side and opened a cabinet where he pulled out a long rabbit sized shotgun and pointed it at the cat. “Git away from my granddaughter and give it back!” The cat turned his head raising a brow before he looked to the ceiling and huffed as Judy kept frowning and Bonnie slapped a paw to her forehead. Senile old buck.  
Everyone, including the professor knew it was a relic. Something forgotten from an old war and calling it an antique would be a kind appraisal. Anyone who still had one of the old guns had legally had to have them registered and dismantled so they no longer functioned. Amber and Judy gave each other a glance as a loud crash followed by several more of metal hitting the floor and banging caught everyone’s attention. It surprised the small cat enough that he let some of his grip on the piece go and Judy yanked it from his paw before she hopped onto the couch, jumped over the back and bound out the room into the left hallway to the second door leading into the medic room.  
Amber was on her sisters heels as her brothers scrambled behind them both with Stu and Bonnie following.“What is going on?!” The older doe asked as she watched Judy crack the door and peek into the room. Amber held them back shaking her head as Judy disappeared into the room.  
The bed he had been strapped to was turned on its side with the mattress lying on the other side of the tilted steel. Judy could see the straps hanging loosely that looked like a razor had cut them clean through. Silver medical tables were scattered all over the floor and the supplies that had been on them thrown in every direction when they had been knocked over. As she looked around the room she nearly fell backwards as a blur of red flew in front of her. Even with all her training in the police academy nothing could prepare her for the eyes that were staring her down as the mammal in front of her stood half crouched with a lowered head and razor sharp claws extended in a defensive position with wild eyes and breathing heavily. She knew that look, knew how he felt because she had been there only six months earlier. He was terrified.  
Judy dropped her ears and lowered bending her knees as she slowly reached a paw out towards him hoping he would see it as a friendly gesture. The belt that was still strapped to his muzzle had wound around the back of his head somehow and kept his mouth from opening completely as she tried to keep her eyes on his movements while keeping hers slow. He had torn part of the sheet he had been covered with covering his lower half and Judy lowered her eyes as he seemed to dip his head to the side looking her over. When he ticked his head rubbing his face over his shoulder and pawed at his face she reached up slowly and pulled the buckle loose understanding he hadn’t been able to figure out how to get it off. She still wasn’t close enough to remove it after undoing the dangling buckle as he kept his eyes on her shaking his head until it fell off his face. His ears tipped when she raised her brows with a small smile. “I won’t hurt you.”  
Those bright green eyes looked her over again and stopped at her other paw. She hadn’t even remembered she was holding the necklace he had been wearing until he reached up and pawed at his neck like he was trying to grab the string it had been tied around. As she slowly lifted it to him his ears tipped again when he reached for it….  
Amber was trying to get her brothers and parents calmed as they all tried to explain everything and talk at the same time. Professor Aldrigsteit was curling one side of his lip as he grabbed both lapels of his suit jerking it down in aggravation as he watched the old buck slip past the commotion and to the door Judy had disappeared behind. The double wide door swung open and Judy turned her head as her grandfathers eyes went wide.  
“DEMON! RED DEVIL! GIT AWAY FROM MY GRANDAUGHTER!” The old buck could barley hold himself up without his cane as he leaned into the doorway. The only thing he saw was a red furred monster with sharp teeth reaching for the granddaughter who had nearly been killed by a savage predator and razor sharp claws extended towards her as he raised the worthless weapon in his grasp leaning against the door frame.  
“PAPPY NO!”  
The cautious curiosity on the red furred mammals face disappeared and was replaced with morbid recognition as he stared at the metal extended into the room. A cringe of horror crossed his face just before it turned to a raging inferno of instinct that flashed his eyes wide into a will of determination with nothing else in mind other than survival as a hollow click sounded when the trigger was pulled. All the rabbits behind him had rushed into the room and Bonnie and Stu were wide eyed as it darted to the left, bounced off a wall and turned to spring back and grab Judy. The necklace in her paw dropped to the floor as her heart started racing. He backed himself into a corner with one arm wrapped around her waist lifting her on her toes as his other paw curled around her throat and jaw.   
“WHAT IS IT?”  
Bonnie had screamed and Stu lost all the color under his fur when Amber rushed past them holding her paws to both sides of the standoff. “Stop! You’re scaring him and her!”   
Juno had taken a step forward and stopped as the mammal dipped his head threateningly, tightening his paw around Judy’s jaw. The purple eyed doe’s nose was racing as fast as her heart when he made a sound that seemed more like thunder than a growl and it rolled through the room as his lips threatened to pull from his teeth. “Nobody move,” Amber said in a low voice as she held her paws out. The wound and covering on his shoulder was dripping as she tried to let Judy know what she was doing, but the doe was breathing just as heavily and panicked as the mammal holding her. Randal and Steven were standing with open mouths on each side of Pappy as she slowly reached for the gun. Another rumble left the mammal as she made several slow movements taking it from his old shaking paws and lying it on the floor before she shoved it with her foot, sliding it across the floor under a cabinet.  
Professor Aldrigsteit couldn’t care less about whatever family squabble was going on with the rabbits at the moment. He had one thing on his mind as he shoved past half a dozen rabbits whose ears he couldn’t see over. “Ms. Hopps! I must insist you give me that artifact so I….can…”  
The cat stared as he breached the little blockade and his tirade of stomps set off the mammal again. Only this time red fur bristled around his neck as his tail puffed out with the cat coming closer than all the others had. His jaw curled up and muzzle scrunched into a snarl as white fangs showed openly and a ferocious sound that resembled a cut off tiger roar snapped from his mouth as his jaw snapped with it. Judy had clutched his paw on instinct when the tips of his claws had pressed into the side of her cheek. On some level she knew as she dug her claws into his paw he didn’t want to hurt her because his claws had released some of the pressure against her skin when she grabbed him.  
It didn’t stop her from squeaking in fear as she tried to stand on her toes to match how he was holding her against his chest, or stop the tear from trailing down her cheek as his white teeth glistened next to her face while his tongue kept licking at his front teeth as if he were trying to hold in saliva that wasn’t there. Whatever it was it set all the rabbit in a state of shock, all of their ears falling and noses freezing as Professor Aldrigsteit looked on in awe as the red furred mammal kept a constant growl going towards the other side of the room. The stiff suited mammal looked him over thoroughly noting his tail and ears, the shape of his teeth and muzzle, the color of his fur and curve of his semi retractable claws, and the way his tail had curled around the front of him and the doe he was holding as the tip twitched like he was an angry cat with a back that was arched slightly at his shoulders in a similar way to his own species. “Merciful Gods……” he whispered watching as green eyes landed on him briefly and his heart started to race as quickly as all the rabbits’ were.  
The red furred mammal pulled his black lips up over his teeth showing his gums as his green eyes kept ticking between every other living creature. His teeth stayed turned towards the cat who stood the closest and posed the largest threat to him. His ferocious snarl still bore with trembling lips around his scrunched and curled up muzzle. Repetitive motions of some kind of threat with his tongue and licking his front teeth continued while his ears stayed tipped and twitching at every sound he picked up while Professor Aldrigsteit blinked…  
“A living… breathing…Fox…”


	3. Chapter 3

A black furred doe had been searching frantically for ten minutes in the lower level of the borough when she finally left the kits with the older of the youngest teens and went looking upstairs. Searching for Addie when he disappeared was a challenge because the little buck had a knack for getting into places even rabbits wouldn’t normally think of. She was already aggravated at being pulled away from her daily schedule for uninvited company and this wasn’t helping the already stressed doe. Her ears tipped and brows furrowed when she got to the kitchen and noticed how abnormally quiet it had gone. When she spotted one of her brothers standing in the door of the medic room she didn’t think twice about it as she walked over huffing and spotted Amber over his shoulder with her back turned to the door. “Hey Amber, is Ad-die….”  
When she noticed the stiff or fallen ears and still tails as she walked beside her brother she froze, catching sight of her parents looking horrified and the red furred mammal in the corner holding Judy as if he were using her as a shield. Amber turned at hearing her voice, caught the look of fear on her face and raised a paw slowly shaking her head. When he tightened his paw around Judy‘s jaw tighter Judy curled her eyes again as she kept clenching his paw. As that same red furred mammal spotted Ruby and locked eyes he curled his lips and growled seeing another mammal joining the crowd. The red eyed doe froze and let out some kind of squeal just before she collapsed into the floor. The thump that echoed turned Juno around and Amber was motioning to the door. “Everybody out. Keep your movements slow and voices down.”  
Juno shook his head as he kept his eyes locked on the mammal holding his sister, but was well aware of another mammal in the room who was almost as much a concern. Professor Aldrigsteit had stayed right where he was, not moving closer or farther from the fox even though his presence was obviously the source of the rise in aggression. Randal and Steven had slid past their brother with Pappy, one taking the older male to another room while the other picked up Ruby and carried her the same direction after Amber had made several motions with her paws like she was directing traffic. The fox was still ticking his eyes back and forth between them but had let the tight grip on the rabbit he was holding let up seeing them leaving. His lips were still curled in aggression and teeth still showing as he kept his head tilted down and let off a low growl each time someone moved.   
Judy was almost standing down on her feet again when Bonnie and Stu were the last two in the room with the exception of Amber and Professor Aldrigsteit. The cat had just stood there studying the mammal before his eyes shifted and spotted the necklace on the floor. The foxes ears were twitching with a small tick that seemed to be catching his neck as he narrowed his eyes on the cat when he leaned over attempting to pick it up off the floor. The feline narrowed his eyes when the fox pulled Judy closer and onto her toes again. It didn’t stop his attempts to retrieve it or unlock eyes with the wild mammal in front of him as Judy curled her face together again.   
“Are you crazy?!” Amber hissed as Bonnie and Stu ground their teeth together.  
The cats teeth had poked over the sides of his mouth as he stared down the mammal in front of him and missed the ball of black fur that darted from one of the hollow legs of the medical table. “ADDIE!” Bonnie screamed as she tried to jerk forward getting caught behind Stu as the cat swiped at the small kit with claws out when the little buck grabbed the necklace off the floor. The mammal in the corner exploded, throwing Judy into Amber and knocking them both to the floor with Judy landing on top of her sister. The fox snatched the little ball of fur as he ducked under the cats swinging arm, twisted and spun, threw his leg out and around kicking the feline off his feet. Bonnie fainted with Stu barely catching her as he fell to the floor with her.   
Amber sat open mouthed while Judy sobbed in her arms as she sat up and watched the fox slam the cat into the floor and lift him by the neck into the air like he weighed about as much as a feather. All while a small black bunny kit was in his other paw. The previous facial motions and warnings he had sent off to the other mammals in the room became defined as nothing other than a warning, when his black lips pulled back exposing teeth that were tightly clamped together, a lowered brow, flattened ears and suddenly narrowed and slit pupils that became vertical lines in the bright green of his eyes.  
The noises he made were nothing like anyone had ever heard and chilling as he looked up at a petrified cat who was clinging to his wrist with claws extended. There was a hollow ticking that seemed to be coming from his throat while a hiss ran through his teeth, accompanied by something between a growl or a cat yowling angrily. The toes on his feet had splayed open, his weight measured on each limb as he stood on his pads like the ancestors of all mammals past. The fur on his back had risen and puffed out making him look twice as large while his muscles strained and flexed locking in place that showed definition even through his thick fur. His tail lashed back and forth like a slithering serpent while he leaned his teeth in closer to the cat’s neck.  
”Oh pellets,” Juno uttered as he stepped into the open doorway. The little bunny that was nearly sitting in the open paw the fox had pulled close to his chest was examining the necklace he had picked up off the floor and was completely unaware of the situation. Void of all fear and filled with curiosity he kept flipping the piece over and stuck it in his mouth almost like he was trying to eat it before shaking his head and pulling it away to examine it again. “Nick- Nick,” the little buck said as he tipped his head to one side. He had a fascination with a few things, coins being at the top of the list and had identified the odd piece as a Nickel. It was when he started clucking his tongue on the roof of his mouth and grinding his teeth making an odd ticking pattern Amber under stood why the fox had been twitching his ears.  
In all the excitement of everything that had happened the wild mammal had been the only one who had heard the little buck sneak into the room and the noises he had been making from somewhere no one would have thought to even look for him. Amber shook her head holding a paw up as Randal and Steven joined Juno at the door halting them from moving any further “Nobody move.” While Stu, Randal, and Steven watched almost mortified, Amber was fascinated. Addie didn’t like anyone touching him outside a few family members, especially not strangers. Usually the little male would be screaming if someone even attempted to approach him. Yet, here he was in the company of a two mammals he had never met, one who was holding him, after being nearly swiped by another stranger and was completely content.  
Bonnie was groaning as she finally fluttered her eyes open and Judy was still buried in her sisters arm as the small buck turned in his paw, reached over his shoulder grabbing tufts of fur and pulled himself onto the foxes shoulder. Bonnie gasped as she sat up throwing her paws over her mouth “That thing will kill him!”  
Amber huffed as Judy turned in her arm “That thing just saved him.” When they all looked at her she pointed to the cat, who was still facing down a set of gleaming white teeth and exposed fangs. “The good doctor here really wants that thing for some reason. He tried to swipe at Addie when he darted out of the table to pick it up off the floor. The fox- saved him from getting hit.” Angry eyes from every rabbit in the room landed on the cat who was still wide eyed looking down at the mammal holding him in the air. The small buck was the only thing that pulled their attention away again when he crawled on top of the foxes head still clicking his tongue and grinding is teeth.  
The massive paw that had wrapped around the cats throat lowered the feline back to the ground while he kept his teeth exposed as the cats feet hit the ground again. The fox narrowed his eyes on the feline while the little buck was climbing all over his head, ears flicking each time the little male would grind his teeth together. Even when the fox narrowed his eyes on the cat that he was looking down at and growled, the bunny that was on his head didn’t flinch. The cat however lowered his ears and moved his eyes away from the other predator in front of him when he narrowed his eyes as his lips vibrated through grit teeth and another thundering growl.  
When the small bunny fell onto his snout wrapping around the top of his muzzle almost blinding him from the cat he was holding his eyes refocused and slits disappeared turning back to round pupils. “Nick- Nick.” The rabbits watched as the fox attempted to keep his eyes on the cat and lift a paw to remove the small bunny, only for his ears to flick again when the little buck bounced back to the top of his head while he continued to mimic the sounds he had been hearing. He rolled his shoulders as the child tumbled down his neck and all of them were blinking when the foxes tail lifted and caught the child, curling around him like another appendage that had a mind of its own.   
No mammal stood on their feet like that, and even with his size he shouldn’t have been able to hold the feline in the air the way he had. None of it was as shocking as what he was doing with his tail. No mammals tail was meant to do what he was doing. Tails didn’t or weren’t supposed to have the kind of strength in them to hold weight. Most mammals in ancient times used the appendages for balance or warning systems to flag others, some even thought those with longer tails may have had them so they could be lost in the event of escaping a predator or possibly attracting a mate. The fox had lifted the end of his tail when the bunny fell down his shoulders and curled the end of the fluffy appendage around him, lifting him away with it before sitting him back on the floor behind him like it was another limb.   
The same odd noises the fox had been making were accompanied by chicks of his cheeks when he shoved the cat back forcefully throwing him onto the ground as he dipped his head and lowered his brows. The cat scrambled backwards on the floor while the fox still towered over him standing on his pads, making it clear not to make any sudden movement as he narrowed his eyes again. All the rabbits were ticking their eyes between the fox, cat, and smallest bunny in the room, half stunned into stupor watching everything. Addie was currently hopping around behind the wild mammal. The fox flinched when he grabbed his tail, all their jaws falling open when he giggled as he hugged around the end of it.  
If that wasn’t enough to stand them still under their own fur, the fact that the fox was still threatening the cat while his appendage like tail seemed to be playing with the little bunny- was. His claws were still extended with curled fingers with his eyes locked on the feline, while his tail was rolling around and over the little kit as he tumbled around behind him. When the little rabbit had made a move closer to the cat the foxes tail had pushed him away until he was almost under his legs. Bonnie was chewing on her lips watching the whole exchange as she ticked her eyes between the two predators and opened her arms motioning for him. “Addie, come here Sweety.” The little buck had glanced at her, ticked his head and blinked before he darted between the foxes hind paws and was examining his toes. Another thing he was fascinated with.   
When the fox tried to swipe him away with a gentle swish of his tail again and the motion failed, he leaned forward and the cat pushed himself farther away on his elbows closer to the bucks who were standing in the open door. Addie was looking at his feet, watching as his claws tapped the floor and grabbed one of his toes. Bonnie and Judy both went wide eyed as the fox made a noise similar to a hyena and almost jerked his head as he tried to pull his toes together. As serious as the situation was it was still unavoidable for a few of the rabbits to smack paws over their mouths trying not to snicker when it became apparent the fox was ticklish while their little brother kept trying to examine his toes.   
One glance from the cat at the little bunny who was still holding the necklace in his paw and the fox dropped to all fours as his tail wrapped around his leg curling in front of the little rabbit. His teeth landed in front of Professor Aldrigsteit and the rusted spotty cat leaned his head back and averted his eyes again. The fox tapped his front claws on the floor and pushed him back with nothing other than leaning closer. Professor Aldrigsteit saw it and took the motion for what it was as he slowly backed away along the floor with his elbows. All the while the fox was making odd noises as he kept his eyes narrowed watching him scooting away. The little rabbit behind his tail was alternating similar sounds.  
Judy stood wiping her face off as Amber helped her stand. The gold eyed doe watched as his tail kept trying to push her little brother away from him towards the other rabbits. “They’re talking to each other.”   
Stu helped Bonnie off the floor as Randal and Steven looked back at them. Juno kept his eyes on the cat whose legs were half under the wild mammal as he slowly scooted his body away from the angry muzzle not far from his own. Bonnie twisted her fingers as Judy shook her head, “That’s not possible. Addie doesn’t ‘talk’ to anyone.” Amber lifted her brow in a condescending tilt as she pointed back to the little buck. He had almost disappeared in the end of the fox’s tail as it curled around him when he tried to use it to push him away and towards the other rabbits again. All their brows went up as the little buck screamed his protest. The fox’s ears tipped forward and flicked while his tail stopped and curled around the tiny rabbit again, just before the tip of it looked like it was petting his head. It curled around his neck and scratching under his chin until Addie stopped screaming.  
The longer fur of his tail compared to the little rabbit almost curled around his face as Addie clucked his tongue a few more times. The little bucks ears tipped back when the longer strands brushed against his cheeks and into the inside of his ears. Addie fell back giggling again as the fox kept narrowed eyes on the cat who had managed to get out from under him completely. “I’m telling you, they are talking to each other.”  
Bonnie and Stu watched blinking as their son rolled around the end of the tail he was almost engulfed in while the fox kept making the odd noises. Bonnie’s face fell as Addie seemed to keep alternating the sounds while he giggled and did things they had never seen him do before. Judy lowered to her knees when the cat finally scooted almost to the open door “Addie, come see me.” The little male ignored her and the fox stood up slowly and jerked his head a few times as he snorted while he kept an angry lowered brow on the feline.   
Amber pointed at the cat as Juno pulled him off the floor. “Get him out of here and don’t let him leave. Call sheriff Catmull.” Juno grabbed him by the shoulder and Randal and Steven hauled him out of the room with the threat of a predator taser they had picked up on the way back. As soon as the cat was out of sight the fox swayed. His eyes glazed slightly as he stumbled, nearly tripping on a silver tray as he caught himself on the wall. Amber looked him over seeing the bandage over his shoulder half torn off, the blood that was coming from his wound had leaked out and drenched the fur of his chest and was dripping down his other paw as it hung limp at his side. Judy and her parents watched as he made another swish of his tail pushing the smaller rabbit away. His eyes fluttered, rolled to the back of his head and he collapsed sending another crash through the room as his body landed on several of the items that had been thrown to the floor earlier.  
Bonnie grabbed Addie off the floor as Amber rushed to the fallen mammal. “Juno, Dad, Judy, help me get him on the other bed.” Stu gave Bonnie a glance and the older doe looked at the son she was holding nodding her head. It sent both males rushing to Amber as she pulled several items out from under the unconscious fox. Judy stood there unsure of what to do until her sister looked back glaring at her. “JUDY! SNAP OUT OF IT!” The purple eyed doe jolted before she was helping the others wrestle him onto the bed and they all stood back watching as Amber pulled the bandage off looking the wound over. “He ripped the stitches when he picked up that cat. A lot of blood loss and he hasn’t eaten for a few days. He just overdid it.”  
Bonnie stepped next to her holding Addie as Judy stood on the other side of the bed. “How did he do that?”  
Amber shrugged as she pulled medical packs out of a drawer next to the bed and started cleaning the wound. “I don’t even know what a fox is or what they are capable of. I think you’ll have to ask Professor crazy to get any answers.”  
Juno and Judy frowned at each other as Stu turned to Bonnie. “Bon, you really gonna let that thing stay in the house? Where’d it come from anyway?”  
Amber shook her head “Judy can explain later. We are not putting him in the barn after all that.”  
The older doe looked down at Addie who was fiddling with the necklace again before he held it out towards the red furred fox “Nick-Nick.”   
She looked back sighing and nodded as Stu bit the side of his cheek shaking his head before he shrugged. “Alrighty, but if he gets out of paw…”  
Judy looked him over and scoffed “Speaking of out of paw, this all got started because of that crazy cat.”  
Amber curled her lip as she started wrapping his shoulder with clean bandages. “I’ll take care of him, you guys can go figure out what the deal is with the nutty professor.”  
Bonnie stayed with Amber as Juno and Stu went to check on Pappy and Ruby. Stu found that Pappy had worn himself out completely and was sleeping .The older doe had come to and raced back into the belly of the borough with the kits not wanting any part of what was going. Judy picked up a few things off the floor waiting for Juno and her father to return.   
“Nick – Nick.”  
Bonnie rolled her eyes smiling and Judy giggled as Addie kept holding the piece out at the fox. Amber finished wrapping his shoulder again and was trying to clean the blood out of his fur. “Well, I guess we know what we are going to be calling him from now on.” They all turned when the bucks came back to the door. After finding out sheriff Catmull was on the way, Stu, Juno and Judy made their way to the kitchen finding Steven and Randal glaring at the professor. It would take the sheriff an hour to get to the farm, being it was one of the largest and located on the fringe of the county several hours from anything anyone would call civilization.  
The cat glowered as he looked between all the rabbits from the chair he was sitting in at the kitchen table. Steven and Randal were the silent types, and almost never spoke. The folded arms and pink electronic taser with the lowered brows all pointed at him had made their message clear without the need to vocalize a threat anyway. Stu and Juno joined the similar stances folding their arms over their chest as Judy did the same across the table. “Alright, you came here unannounced and without permission, insulted my family with your rude attitude, tried to steal something and almost hurt my little brother. I want to know why. The sheriff is on the way. Why do you want that thing so badly and what is a fox?”  
The cat curled one side of his lip looking between them before they landed on the purple eyed doe again. She grit her teeth in a flat face, pointed a stubby claw at him before jarring the single digit toward the floor as she squared her shoulders. “START TALKING…..”


	4. Chapter 4

Zootopia  
The small ewe in the seat next to a ram pressed the button closing the window of the limo between her and the driver. As soon as it was up the sweet smile on her face dropped as she turned her head. Her paw flew up smacking the ram next to her in the nose. The ram flinched back cupping his muzzle with both paws as she continued to glare at him through the watery eyes staring back at her. The blood dripping from his muzzle made her curl her lip in disgust as she shoved a handkerchief at him. “You left it there!? Go back and get the body. I don’t care how you do it. I don’t care what you have to do to do it. We can’t get the predators out of the city or get what we are after if anyone finds that thing.”  
The ram bowed his head as he cupped the fabric over his muzzle. “I don’t understand why you are trying to get rid of all of them.”  
Dawn glared at him and he leaned back with an uncomfortable grimace on his face. “Must I explain everything to you Dillon. I swear I wouldn’t believe you were Doug’s brother if I didn’t know you came from the same herd. I need all the predators gone. If I just went after the ones I need to get rid of they would piece this together and it wouldn’t work. It also takes the problem of anyone really questioning or caring about it out of the equation doesn’t it?”   
She shook her head as she pulled out her phone and hit dial. “Doug here.”  
“Hello bushy.”  
“I believe I have told you not to call me that a dozen times.”  
“Hmmm,” she cooed as she twisted the wool on her head in one hoof. “Do you think it’s going to keep me from doing it anymore?”  
Doug sighed as he stuck the phone to his ear against his shoulder while he adjusted some valves in one of the cylinders. “I suppose not, what is it this time?”  
“You’re brother is an idiot.” She hissed as she glared at the ram in the seat.  
Doug rolled his eyes as he swirled the blue liquid in the cylinder before pouring into another chamber. “Tell me something I don’t know. Not what I asked, you have a target?”  
“No, but something you don’t know is that he left the body.”  
“HE DID WHAT?!”  
“Oh Yes. Now I need you both to go get it and make sure there aren’t any problems because the idiot isn’t sure exactly where it was left at. He just knows it was a field right between the line of Leoprid and Tithias County. He says he buried it.”  
Doug rolled his eyes as he set the tubes down and filled several capsules placing them in a case with a longer air rifle. “How far is it?”  
“A few hours, but I can help you with that. Take anything and everything you might need. Just in case. We are too close to our goal to risk anything now.”  
The ram sighed as he started packing things and shaking his head. “Is that all?”  
Dawn looked out the window with a sneer, watching as the cameras and mammals kept trying to snap pictures and held up signs for her upcoming election. “I do have a small request if you can fit it in before you leave Bushy. Elections are in two weeks. Remember that special target I told you about when this started?”  
The ram stood in his trailer with a gleaming smile, something that was rare for his personality as his eyes narrowed. “Really?” he asked with a voice that pitched half through the word.  
Dawn giggled as she covered her mouth “Yes Bushy, really.”  
“I’ll have it done in an hour, tell the idiot I’ll pick him up at four if you can get us there quicker. I might actually like hearing that name after this.”  
“You know where he is. I’ll have everything arranged for you. Have fun Bushy!” She giggled as she hung up.  
Doug was whistling as he packed everything out of his trailer and into a car above the subway station. If he could place a name on the feeling he was having right now, it might just be giddy. Even though he really wasn’t sure what that meant. After making his way downtown into the Rain Forest District and taking up position in a large tree that had once been the home of a panther he was adjusting his riffle sights and getting into the right position, shaking his head as he looked through the scope mumbling to himself. “What is it with cats and trees? I thought lions liked the desert or Savannahs.”   
A big cat. If anything Doug could say he truly loved hunting, the bigger the better, though he didn’t have a problem picking off smaller targets that left him feeling a sense of pride for making the shots. That stupid little otter was the best shot he thought he’d ever made. Of course taking the panther out with him was just a bonus. The fact that he had a bird’s eye view and perfect shot from the black cats house to his next target- gold. He lined up the scope looking through the black lines as the last of the rain from the water cycle stopped watching Lionheart get out of his car and go into the lower section of the open tree complex townhouse he called his home. “Here kitty, kitty, kitty.” ~Bang~  
ZIA Headquarters  
The large picture window on the top floor of the building was meant to be a perk. It wasn’t really considered one as he looked out over the city. There were just some things certain species didn’t care for and no matter how long he had been flying around on missions in helicopters or taking flights to various countries, he still didn’t care for it. It was almost - annoying, not that he couldn’t appreciate the view. He had gotten over the fear of heights a long time ago. Jump out of a plane a few times and you get cured of that real quick. No matter how the world saw you, you were what you were and he would always be a rabbit.   
The thought made him laugh as he sat back at his desk picking up a pen tapping it on the paper in front of him. That’s all they ever see, a puny little rabbit. They were always surprised and if he could snap a picture of the shock on every face he would probably have a wall full of them plastered on one side of his office just so he could gloat about it. He wasn’t the type to brag though, as much as the thought genuinely amused him keeping those hidden talents was the element of surprise that kept him alive most of the time. The phone ringing caught him from his wondering thoughts and he stood as he answered it looking out the large window. “Savage.”  
“Sir we have a breach.”   
His ears shot up as the sight of the city was lost and found his own reflection in the glass instead. Eyes gone cold as sea water and ears set rigid stared back at him as he stuffed his paw in his pocket and cinched his jaw watching the striped fur on his cheeks clench. “When.”  
The silence on the line nearly made him growl before he tapped his claw on the phone and the mammal on the other end knew it was a sign of impatience and not to linger any longer. “The night before last Sir.”  
Grinding teeth were heard clearly as the phone in his paw groaned under pressure. “Why was I not notified sooner, how, who and why?” he hissed as he glared at his own reflection.  
The mammal on the other end of the line gulped. “We don’t know Sir.”   
The answer elicited a real growl as he clamped his fist in his pocket and shook his head. “What exactly do you know?” Jack listened to a few rustling papers as his impatience grew shorter in the passing seconds.  
“Ugh. Tracker followed until last night and lost the scent. The mammal was injured somehow and trackers followed the blood to a county right outside of….Bunny Borough.”  
Jack shook his head as he pursed his lips “He got that far? Mammal is vague Milo, which one was it?” The silence on the line had him speaking through grit teeth “….Milo.”   
“Male Sir.”  
Damn it. “Do they know which one it was or how he got out?”  
“Uh no Sir, we haven’t been able to verify it yet.”  
Send me the last coordinates they last picked him up at.” Jack looked over his phone after it pinged and scrunched his brow. “Get Alpha, I’ll need help and you better be there and explain everything when I arrive Milo. You better find out how it happened before I get there.”  
“Yes Sir.”  
Central City District One Police Station  
“Z.P.D, this is Clawhauser, what is your emergency or how may I direct your call?” The large cat’s ears dropped as he cringed. “Oh, Yes Sir. One moment please.”  
Clawhauser pressed the button on the com system and a booming voice answered as he shrank in his seat. Chief Bogo had been in a bad mood for hours after having to wrestle Lionheart with several of his officers injured. Without any explanation as to why the predators were going savage he had been snapping at everyone with all the hours he was putting in and trying to keep the public from going into a frenzy. Not only due to that, but due to the upcoming election as well. Two candidates remained, the poor old goat who had been the last in the running had already made it clear he knew he wasn’t going to win with Bellwether in such a large lead, but had graciously thanked the public for running anyway. The fact that several of his best officers had asked for transfers to other cities was like someone lighting the candles on the cake above the icing.  
The predators were just as afraid as the prey and it was becoming at least a daily event a predator was lost. They had been lucky in the fact that no one had been killed, that little rabbit was the closest to death. After that fiasco the Chief had made it clear no matter what she had done she had no business in the police force. With all the will and determination she had she couldn’t follow orders after she was told to stay away from the situation, left her position on parking duty and stuck herself right in the middle of what nearly got her killed. Now Lionheart was gone, locked up with all the other savage predators in Cliffside. At least her being in the mess had ended the mammal inclusion program and he wouldn’t have to worry about smaller mammals getting into the police force anymore. He had enough things to worry about without having other officers trying to protect ‘officers’ who had no business there to begin with. Whatever the ZIA was calling for was just going to be another thing that would throw the old bull into a rage, one he had been barely staving off as stressed as he was already.  
“Chief, the ZIA is on the line.” Clawhauser could already hear Bogo trying not to bellow.  
“Put them through.” Bogo ground his teeth. This was the last thing he needed right now.  
“Agent Milo Sir. We need Officers Snarlov, and Wolford.”  
Bogo’s ears flicked as he tried not to break his own teeth “You want to take two of my best officers? Do you have any idea what is going on here right now?”  
“It’s not a request Sir. A chopper will be there to escort them in ten minutes.”  
Bogo hung up. It was the politest thing he could do, maybe not professional, but better than screaming obscenities and ranting to a government official who could care less about what was going on and left him no choice in the matter either way. At least it was close to shift change and he wouldn’t have to call them in off duty. “Clawhauser, send Snarlov and Wolford up here.” After Clawhauser had sent them to Bogo’s office the bull simply told them they were needed elsewhere and would be picked up at the roof in a chopper. They didn’t ask seeing him trying not tear through his own shirt as every muscle flexed. They just left the office hoping he didn’t explode until after they had left.  
The two wolves were standing on the roof, both looking around before they turned to each other shaking their heads “What’s this all about?” Wolford asked.  
Snarlov shrugged. “Beats me.”  
Hopps farm  
“START TALKING…..”  
Professor Aldrigsteit curled his lip and squared his shoulders as he sat up in the chair glaring at the doe in front of him. A snide smile peeled across his lips as he looked at her, seeing the large scar on her face as he lifted his paw and curled his fingers. Judy’s eyes went wide and ears dropped as he held his paw out and extended his claws. “Tell me Ms. Hopps, what is it like to nearly be eaten by a savage mammal? Considering who you are I am surprised you would bring a wild animal into your home.”  
Half a minute of fear lingered before she tilted her head back and glanced at her brothers, who were all grinding their teeth as her father puffed up like an angry cat. A common knowledge among species was that bunnies were timid creatures. Instilled with fear and more likely to flee when there is a threat than try to defend themselves. A fact not so easily recognized was that evolution changed things. Rabbits would always be rabbits, but unlike in the city where there weren’t a lot of bunnies because most of the species were by trait farmers or chose careers that kept them out of harm’s way- the one thing that had changed over millions of years was the bonds formed between family. In times past if there was a threat rabbits would scatter even in large groups. There was safety in numbers if one was sacrificed to save others when a predator was chasing down prey. That was no longer the case.  
Rabbits would never be the bad A** alphas like large predators that had sharp teeth or claws like the ones this pompous cat was hiding a threat behind and trying to intimidate the doe in front of him with. But, there was a considerable amount of danger in nothing other than numbers. After the feline had already attempted to harm a young kit who didn’t understand what was going on to begin with, openly threatening a doe in front of the strongest bucks in the family who had been nearly mauled to death by another cat? Wrong move buster. He was sitting there smiling thinking he had the upper paw until Judy sucked her lip into her mouth and chuckled. Once his eyes left her and landed on the bucks in the room, all who may as well have been growling at him, his face dropped to a scowl.  
Randal and Steven didn’t say much. They glanced at each other before turning back to the stiff suited cat. The two had a way of talking to each other that no one had ever really understood. In a family of more than three hundred rabbits, each one had their own distinct personality regardless of how the world saw them as a group. Not that Professor Aldrigsteit couldn’t read their faces plain enough. Juno and Stu had both tensed and stepped closer to the table, while the two identical bucks had glanced at each other and a sinister smile crawled up opposite sides of each of their muzzles. If you had put them together you would have had one really evil looking smile. They both landed their eyes back on the cat who jolted in the chair as Steven pressed the button on the pred taser. Sparks flashed and reflected in every eye in the room, but the only ones that went wide were the cats as he leaned away in the chair.  
“Bunnies are cute aren’t we?” Judy almost sang the words as his eyes swung back to her. The cat was looking her over as if to reconsider her completely as she leaned into one hip and mocked him by examining her own claws. “We may be bunnies but we aren’t defenseless. We look out for each other, and I don’t care who you think you are, right now you’re in more trouble than you can imagine.” The cat gave her an incredulous glare as he folded his arms over his chest and shot her a confident grin that screamed ‘I doubt it’. The doe just smiled wider and nodded “You are out here in the middle of nowhere, tried to harm a child and threatened another bunny. Legally if something happened to you before the sheriff got here do you think they would be asking any questions about it later considering that same history you just brought up?”  
If he was going to try to use that against her, she didn’t have a problem turning the tables. Bunnies weren’t the violent type and never would be. Though it was incredibly rare for rabbits to do anything in that nature, most everyone knew those few rare exceptions had been when a borough was defending or protecting family members from harm. Of course she was bluffing, it didn’t keep the smile on her face from widening or looking more devious as the cat looked around and saw her father and brothers looking at him. All wearing the gleam a natural born hunter would have in their eyes as they all shared the same inflection on their faces. They were willing to fight for each other if it was necessary, not that Judy really needed any help in this area after the academy. When the cat’s ears flicked her ears sprang up as she tilted forward. Gotcha.  
“What is that thing and what is a fox?”  
Professor Aldrigsteit sat up straighter and tipped his head to one side quickly bringing it back in place as he looked off in thought and back to her with a nasty smile. “I suppose it doesn’t matter what you know. It won’t change anything, no one will believe you anyway.” The disgusted look on her face only made him smile wider as he shook his head. “A fox is a savage, wild animal, calling it a mammal would be a lie. It will be dead as soon as someone knows it’s alive anyway.” When Judy’s ears dropped half back as her face fell he leaned forward smiling wider. “Curiosity killed the cat didn’t it Ms. Hopps? It might kill the bunny this time.” Judy curled her brow as he started chuckling and her brothers and father were glaring at him as he looked around at them. She blinked as she looked at him and as the thought of why he looked so smug hit her she blinked.   
She pulled her phone out looking over the texts she had sent and glanced at him before searching for his name. “I never sent you a message. How did you even know I had that thing?” Her mouth was hanging open when she looked back and he was still wearing that smug smile. The foremost archeologist in Animalia, leader of the Culture Heritage Division, more over- the leader of the Predator Heritage Division located in Mammalia. The capital of Animalia and nineteen hours from Zootopia, several more from Bunny Borough and several more from the Hopps farm. There was no way he should have been able to get to where she was in that amount of time, much less known she had that piece.  
He was chuckling as all the rabbits in the room looked at each other nervously and back to him. “History is what we have chosen it to be Ms. Hopps. No one has seen a fox in the books since the Eglacian era. For the sake of civilization and the pact between predator and prey to succeed, there were some exceptions that had to be made on our part. Not all predators are the same. There were a number of species that didn’t evolve like the rest of us. They had traits and abilities that would never be seen as acceptable to prey. In order to save all predators from the rising number of prey, we had to get rid of those species.” The look of horror on Judy’s face was nearly matched by the other rabbits in the room as he leaned into the table with an angry brow and a deep frown.  
“That piece you searched has a photo representation in every museum in Animalia. Mammals search that image constantly trying to figure out what it is. But you are the first in more than four hundred years who has found a genuine article, and the only one who has searched with a photo of one that had a few significant marks on it that weren’t in the ones displayed at the museums. The original was copied and a few changes made so that if it ever did come up again, we would know if it was real. Every time it comes up we seek it to see if it is genuine.”  
“We? Predators...killed their own kind? Why?” Judy asked in horror as she shook her head. There had been a few squabbles between the species in the beginning when they were trying to work out all the details of the pred/prey pact, but there had never been any wars or what anyone considered real fighting about it.  
Professor Aldrigsteit scowled and the hate on his face deepened as much as the growl that came through his voice. “They were never our kind. Those animals weren’t truly predator or prey because they ate both kinds of food. We may all have sharp teeth and claws Ms. Hopps, but it was hard enough for those of us with just those traits to overcome the fear your kind had of us. Many of those other animals were killed in that era due to them being used as entertainment for Emperor Nistalinas in the arenas because of those other traits. The few times one has popped up in history it has disappeared just as quickly. They were never capable of conforming to things like language or social conventions, and some of their abilities frightened even the largest of us who also had teeth and claws. There was no place in the growing world for them. So it was decided they didn’t belong among us long before my time. If I were you I would consider how much trouble you are in with that wild animal in your home. It is nothing more than a savage and a dumb bunny doesn’t even know how dangerous it can really be.”  
Judy wasn’t one to be overtaken by fear. Not that it didn’t have its place and couldn’t affect her, obviously. (She would always be a rabbit) What most mammals didn’t know and what had been kept from the public when she had been attacked, was that she was protecting a few other mammals that got left out of the story because it was considered too harsh for the general public. The thought hit her like a punch from a rhino- which she was also well familiar with after being in the academy and learning how to defend herself successfully against one. Savage was not the right word.  
Sick…..was. It halted all her other thoughts and motions as it registered while she looked at the cat in front of her and put the fox in a whole new light. Because those few other mammals she had been trying to protect were the cheetahs own kittens. If even a wild mammal who was terrified was willing to defend a child against a threat, and she could easily look around and see her own family ready to fight a predatory to protect her when they knew they could easily get hurt it was the only reasonable explanation. No mother would willingly harm their own kits if there wasn’t some kind of illness involved that took over maternal instincts like that. Even in ancient history what was considered savage was more like ‘uncivilized’ by other mammals, and those ‘savages’ or wild mammals of all species or wild animals in general still cared for and defended their young. Wild wasn’t the right word either, different was.  
Judy looked to see all her brothers and father glancing between her and the cat and grit her teeth. “I. Am. Not. A. Dumb. Bunny. The only wild animal I see is sitting in front of me because only an uncivilized pompous jerk who thinks harming a child and condemning other species because they are different is the only real savage in my book.”  
The cat leaned back in the chair almost shrugging his shoulders with a bored expression on his face. “Suit yourself Ms. Hopps. You have no idea what that thing can do. It won’t matter anyway once your sheriff gets here and sees it.”  
“Judy?”  
Judy turned when she heard Amber’s voice, seeing her sister standing in the door almost chewing on her lip as she glanced at her father who just tipped his head letting her know they would take care of anything while they talked. Amber pulled her back into the hall out of ear shot as she cupped her paws together. “We have a little problem.” The purple eyed doe raised her brows with an uncomfortable cringe as she waited. Amber sighed “He’s hungry.”  
“He’s awake?” Judy asked as she looked back at the med door and Amber shook her head.  
“No, he’s not, but his stomach is talking loud enough for the rest of him. After exerting so much energy, the blood loss and not eating for a few days he’s going to be starving when he wakes up.”  
Judy cringed. They didn’t have anything for predators to eat in the borough. She wasn’t even sure what he….. Those mammals weren’t truly predator or prey because they ate both kinds of food. The smile on Judy’s face had Amber tilting her head as she bit her lip. “You know I think the nutty professor actually just helped. Let’s just put a few things in there and see if he likes any of them, he said they ate both kinds of food so maybe we have something he can eat.”  
After leaving her brothers and father with a sulking cat, Bonnie had helped Amber and Judy take several dishes into the room sitting them on the counters. Addie had been a pawful because he was still fascinated and by the time Bonnie got him calmed down she was as worn out as he was. She took him off for a nap so she could have some tea and wait for sheriff Catmull. Amber looked back at the red fox. In the time that had passed while they had been talking in the kitchen her and her mother had cleaned the med room and left nothing worse for wear. Amber had locked up the old relic of a gun so Pappy couldn’t get to it again and left Judy with him again to check on their grandfather, the purple eyed doe watching as he started licking his dry lips, still knocked out from the whole event.  
She was groaning knowing what she had to do again and even though she really hated putting that thing back on his muzzle, after having his teeth not a few inches from her face and not being able to strap him to the bed he was on with the other one damaged, she wasn’t willing to take the chance. After the first few mouthfuls of water she rolled her eyes seeing a dark ball of fur from the corner of her vision and looked over expecting to find Addie having snuck out of his bed to peek in on the fox again. The fox was once again lapping at her mouth through a nearly closed muzzle. Only what caught her eye froze her to the spot as her paws were on each side of his muzzle, because it wasn’t Addie that was moving. Tail.  
Wide purple eyes looked back and found a pair of brilliant green just as shocked looking back at her and both their ears pinked as the rest of the water that was in her mouth fell into his. The fox blinked as he watched her ears turn a bright shade of red and fall, his brows that had been up in surprise dropped along with his eyelids. Judy was pretty sure her heart might stop as she felt one side of his lip arc even under the belt around his muzzle as he smirked at her, half lidded while her nose twitched against his with her lips still pressed to his mouth. Sweet…Cheese and….Crackers…..


	5. Chapter 5

Amber walked to the door just in time to see Judy’s ears fall, the purple eyed doe squeaked before she blinked and shot backwards from the grinning tod she was leaned over and fell onto the floor covering her face. The fox sat up blinking, smirk still present as he clutched his shoulder, Amber almost falling over laughing as Judy turned several shades of red. Judy looked back at her glaring but her attention was refocused on the fox as he groaned and swiped his other paw over his muzzle. The gold eyed doe approached slowly and he leaned away almost like he was afraid of her coming any closer, so she stopped in place motioning to Judy.  
Judy stood up still glaring as her sister tried to contain the snickers from seeing the blush still in her ears. Once she huffed and took a step closer to the bed the fox was sitting on she dropped her paws from her face and the fox pulled his head back and tilted it to the side as he glanced at her face several times and cringed. Amber watched both of them and shook her head “Judy, you know that look.” She did know that look, it had bothered her since she came back from the hospital, but at the same time she knew it wasn’t for the same reason as the mammals who had stared at her for failing and feeling sorry for her. The way he kept flitting his eyes to the side, not being able to meet hers as he kept his muzzle pointed the other direction and how his brows were arched in at the tips and curled into his eyes made it clear.   
The frown on his face as he tried to keep his lips pulled over his teeth, the way his shoulders were cringed and how he curled his cheeks into his eyes. His ears had flattened to his head and his arms stayed cinched into his chest even with one was wrapped around his shoulder and the other over his muzzle as he tried to keep his claws out of sight made it obvious. He felt guilty. She’d felt the same way when her parents came to the hospital to see her after everything had happened. She didn’t regret becoming a police officer or anything that had happened. She regretted hurting them, and felt guilty for it. The same thing she could see written all over the mammal sitting in front of her as she tilted her head with the same sorrow as she reached for his muzzle. The fox pulled away cupping his paw over the belt strapped around his snout and closing his eyes, making another hollow clicking sound as he turned his head and closed his eyes. He didn’t want her to take it off.  
Judy looked back at Amber who was looking between both of them with a sorrowful twinge. It was odd. All the strange noises he made with so much aggression or in threat, and the one he was creating now had that same clicking and hollow feature as many of the others, but it also had such a deep resonating sorrow in it that he didn’t need to talk. It didn’t take Judy more than a few seconds to place her paws on his muzzle and the fox cringed as she pulled his face to hers, still refusing to maintain eye contact as she tried to pull his paw away and remove the belt from his muzzle. “It’s OK.” Judy pulled the belt away from his muzzle watching as he tilted his head to one side while his brows kept furrowing in shame and eyes kept flicking back to her. She held out the necklace to him and watched him take it warily before tying it back around his neck. The fox cringed as his stomach growled and Amber giggled as Judy bit her lip. The gold eyed doe handed her a bowl full of several things and Judy held out a baby carrot as the fox finally landed his eyes on her. “Carrots.”  
He watched as she nibbled on it, his brows going up as she held it out to him again before she took another bite. “See, carrots.” Boy was he nervous. Judy couldn’t help but grin as he looked her over and the intensity of the way he was watching her and then looking all around the room as if he were in awe of everything was fascinating. As hungry as he obviously was it didn’t keep the fascination he had at looking at everything from registering, particularly when he looked at the lights in the ceiling and squinted against the glare. When those sparkling green eyes finally landed back on her and the food she was still holding she almost laughed as he attempted to speak the same word she had telling him what she was holding. It wasn’t really a vocalization so much as the same hollow clicking he had been making except that the first and last syllables came out as more of a hiss that actual sounds. “Chh-a-a-a-r-r-o-o-o-t-sssss.”  
Judy and Amber were both smiling as he finally took the vegetable, looking it over before he nibbled at it. Neither of them could help but laugh as he made a sour face that scrunched his muzzle and he almost spit a few times after tasting it while his tongue stuck out shaking his head slightly. “I don’t think he likes those.” Amber laughed as she handed Judy another bowl filled with potatoes, green beans and corn. He only glanced at them before he was digging into them like he was starving, Judy and Amber both raising a brow as he ate the corn, cob and all. Neither of them had given much thought to the items not being cooked, being rabbits they had a tendency to eat the vegetables raw more often than not. It didn’t keep both of them from having a bit of an uncomfortable twinge seeing his sharp teeth biting through a corn cob like it was the thing many other mammals slathered all over it after it had been boiled or cooked somehow.  
When he had knocked out the largest bowl they had brought in licking around his muzzle as he polished off the last corn cob Amber handed Judy another bowl she held out to him. The fox had glanced at her and the fruit in it before jabbing a claw into one of the blue morsels before holding it up to his nose and sniffing a few times. Apparently carrots and blueberries were among the things he’d never seen before. As he stuck it in his mouth neither doe could keep from laughing as his eyes went wide, just before his whole snout was shoved into the bowl in his lap. They were both giggling when he looked up at them, cheeks full of berries as the juice ran down the side of his face while he continued fishing them out of the bowl with his tongue. A thump had the fox looking up, both Judy and Amber unsure of what to do as Addie jumped on the end of the bed. “Nick- Nick!”  
Neither of them had time to react as the little buck jumped at the fox. The bowl in his lap nearly fell as Addie curled up under his chin rubbing under his jaw in what rabbits called nudging, a way of showing affection that was akin to what predators did when marking a child or mate. Amber was wide eyed as Judy stood there slack jawed. The fox had jerked his head back in shock and blinked before he was grinning as he curled his paws around the tiny rabbit. Addie was only five years old, and not much bigger than one of his paws. The little rabbit was chirring and grinding his teeth as the fox pulled back smiling before he ran his muzzle over the little buck on his opposite shoulder. “Have you ever seen anything like that?” Amber asked as the fox moved the bowl sitting the child between his open legs as he giggled, rolling around while they both were making clicking and chucking noises as the fox tickled and pet him.  
“Judy, sheriff Catmull is he…..” Bonnie froze at the door. Ears rising in shock and brows lifting as she watched her son being pet and fawned over by the fox. That was an odd enough sight, but not what had deadlocked her as she watched one of her youngest kits. Seeing him being affectionate in such a way he rarely showed had the older doe teary eyed as he curled around the foxes paws, rolling and tumbling as he giggled. Addie had latched onto a paw nearly as large as he was while hugging around it, nudging and nuzzling like he couldn’t do and rarely did with any member of his family. The fox was making the same hollow clicking noises and something similar to a purr. Addie kept grinding his teeth and clucking his tongue as the foxes claws pet under his chin, rubbing his ear between his fingers with his other paw. Amber had cupped a paw over her mouth shaking her head looking at her mother before turning to Judy. “I’ll go get him something else to eat, I’m sure that didn’t fill him up as much larger as he is than we are. Judy, go talk to the sheriff and Mom can stay in here.”  
Judy left to meet sheriff Catmull in the living room as Amber went to the kitchen. The tan doe grabbed several large bowls of fruit and vegetables from the pantry and her father before she left the room. Randal, Steven, and Juno still keeping an eye on the pompous cat sitting at the kitchen table. Bonnie and Stu both looked at Judy as she stood in front of the sheriff, twisting her fingers as she sighed. After seeing them leave the room the sheriff titled a brow curiously as Judy finally found her tongue. She was banking on the fact that the older female was-a little different and open minded. Sheriff or not everyone knew she was a bit of an eccentric personality, swearing to all the heavens she had seen aliens and spaceships, big-paw, and a few ghosts in her lifetime. The lady was a Lady, but also believed in things like tarot cards, fortune telling and séances. Judy almost rolled her eyes at the thought but chastised herself thinking about the odd events of the last day. “There is a guy in the kitchen who tried to hurt Addie, steal something and threatened me.”  
The cougar standing in front of her curled one side of her lip up as the fur on the back of her neck stood on end. Judy and her son Bobby were best friends in school, and had spent a lot of time together at each other’s homes, so they were a rather close little group in school and out. Everyone knew who Addie was and his condition. As small a community as it was, it was unavoidable that everyone knew everyone regardless of how far apart they all might live from each other. “Stacy,” Judy brought her attention back from the kitchen as she bit her lip. “There is something else I need you to see before you take him.” The cat lifted a brow and uncurled her muzzle while Judy shook her head. “I think you might have to see it to believe it. Ever heard of a fox before?” The cat shook her head as Judy waved a paw leading her back into one of the hallways.  
Stu stood at the door next to Bonnie as they both gaped. Amber had sat several bowls on the table next to the bed and the fox was currently eating a pawful of blueberries while a small buck was chewing on one that was stuck to the end of his claw on his other paw. The fox’s tail had curled around the little rabbit and was scratching between his ears as Addie licked his own muzzle. “Sakes alive Bon,” Stu shook his head when Addie bounced around, the foxes tail curling with every move the little bunny made after he had gobbled up the blueberry and started wrestling with the fluffy appendage in the space between his bent knees on the bed. Amber watched her parents grinning as Judy walked to the door with sheriff Catmull who let her jaw drop as she stood behind the two older rabbits. Judy watched her cautiously as her paw went to her tranq gun, quickly grabbing her paw and shaking her head as she pointed back to the fox.  
The cat watched mesmerized as Addie played with his tail. When the little buck stumbled back and rolled bumping his head on the foxes knee and wailing all the rabbits and the cat jarred as his tail curled around the little male. He dipped his head lower cooing in a noise that sounded similar to a pigeon. Addie rubbed his eyes and ended up reaching for the Foxes nose sniffling as he rubbed his own against it. The fox wiped away half a tear with his thumb while Addie snuggled his face sniffling. Judy smiled wider as the sheriff took her paw off her gun shaking her head “Never thought I’d see another alien again. Seems friendly enough though.” That had all their heads turning to her and wide eyed as she looked at the odd pair on the bed again.   
“You’ve seen a fox before?” Judy asked as she stared at the sheriff.  
The cougar scratched her neck as she shrugged “Never heard of a fox before, but it looked kinda similar. Had real dark fur, round ears and a shorter tail.”  
Judy shook her head as she waved into the room “Well it’s not an alien Stacy. It’s a fox. According to the professor who is also the one we called you about they are supposed to be extinct. And I have to figure out where he came from and keep him safe until I can get him back.” The purple eyed doe looked at the sheriff pleadingly until the cat turned her yellow eyes back to look between the fox and doe again.   
“It’s a mammal?” Judy nodded and the sheriff shrugged as she watched the small black bunny curl under his chin again as the fox continued petting and cooing at him. “I aint got a problem with it. I’ve seen weirder things.” Yes! Amber had to stifle her giggles as she watched Judy trying not to bounce in her own excitement. After the purple eyed doe had led sheriff Catmull back to the kitchen she had nearly had to tie her own foot to the other in order to keep it from thumping the floor at one point or another. Once for nothing more than sheer aggravation and rage at the smaller felines attitude, once again for being positively gleeful seeing his face fall as sheriff Catmull told him she could care less what kind of mammal was on the Hopps farm if the Hopps’ themselves didn’t have a problem with him being there. She didn’t try to hide the cocky smile as the professor was cuffed, leering at her as the sheriff hauled him out to her car and off the Hopps farm.   
Once all the brothers had settled the mess in the kitchen Randal had gone to the fields to alert the rest of the family of the situation, while Steven had gone under the farmhouse into the borough to explain everything to the younger kits and Ruby. By the time Juno and Judy got back to the medic room it was nearly dark outside and everyone was coming in as Bonnie sighed and shook her head leaving Judy and Amber alone with the fox and Addie. Stu turned to her as they were leaving glancing back at the room as they left the hallway. “You gonna leave him in there Bon?”   
Bonnie laughed as she made her way to the kitchen, many of the older does who had come in earlier had already gotten dinner on the table as she turned to her mate. “If Addie likes the fox, and is ‘talking’ to him or whatever they are doing, I can’t see how on earth he could be a bad mammal. Not after watching all that and what he did earlier. Judy wants to help him and Amber approves. It might help both of them too dear.”  
Stu chuckled and shrugged as he leaned to his wife “Suppose it might. Never seen Addie like that with anyone, and Judy took a liking to him even though she’s been kinda skittish around predators since all that mess happened even after what happened with him earlier. We still gotta find out how he got here and straighten some things out though Bon.” The older doe scrunched her muzzle as she leaned her nose into her mates, both of them rubbing them back and forth in affection as she agreed before leaving the living room to the kitchen. Juno joined Amber and Judy in the med room watching from the door as the fox continued to amuse the little bunny in his lap. “Nick- Nick.” He kept repeating as he crawled all over the fox who was obviously laughing with a lower pitch that still resembled something similar to a hyena. Judy tipped her head to one side as she watched his teeth chattering and turned to Juno who was shaking his head in disbelief and humor at the sight of it all.  
“Juno, do we have anything he can wear? I think He’s cold and that – ripped up sheet isn’t really covering enough for anyone to be comfortable with. It looks like it might fall off if he moved the wrong way.”  
Juno ticked his eyes off in thought and huffed. “We’ve still got the clothes from the carrot festivals charity drive. There might be something in there that would fit him from some of the predator families that donated. But there’s no way he’ll fit into anything of ours. I’ll go look.”  
Juno had left and returned shortly, both does not hesitating to leave after he let them know he would help get the fox into some clothes. Addie refused to leave. The last thing Judy saw as she left was the foxes ears and brows tipping forward as her brother started pulling a pair of khakis out of a bag while Addie played with his tail after he had stood from the table. When Juno reopened the door Amber and Judy were met with a sight that had both of them cringing and snickering at the same time. “That’s horrible Juno.” Judy teased as she tried to hide her smile. Apparently the fox agreed. He was standing next to the bed, Addie still playing with his tail – which was still trying to amuse the child even though it had a bit of an aggravated puff to it while whipping like an angry cats. His brow was dropped in a straight line, almost looking as if he had just gotten suckered into working with someone he didn’t want to and was annoyed by being teased with the fact.  
Amber snorted, while Judy slapped a paw over her mouth when the fox didn’t move but his eyes slid over to meet hers, he was fighting not to smile as he watched Judy’s amusement. One of his back paws kept brushing his other leg, like he wasn’t used to wearing pants, or maybe nothing as long as to cover the length of his legs. “The tie is a bit much don’t you think Juno?” Judy asked before she pulled her bottom and top lip into her mouth when the fox narrowed his eyes on her and smiled with all the meaning of ‘I know what you’re thinking’ written all over his face. It was when he had reached up and yanked the blue tie with pink pin stripes in it down loosening the knot and popped the first button off the Pawaiian shirt he was wearing Judy’s eyes went wide.   
“It’s the only thing we had that would fit him and I thought the tie would make him look – unassuming and a little more approachable.” Amber and Juno had both hit their paws on their knees laughing as Judy’s mouth fell open as the fox smiled wider.  
He may not be able to talk, but the message he was sending was blatant. ‘You think this is funny- watch this, I’m going to own it.’ As he stuck his paws on his hips Grinning like a Cheshire cat at the purple eyed doe - he did own it, and Addie was laughing behind him as he made a series of clicks and chucks while the fox was swinging his tail around the little bunny before he was scratching under his chin with the tip of his tail again. Seeing the other two rabbits laughing at her reaction only spurred him on as he scrunched his muzzle playfully and winked at the purple eyed doe, who couldn’t do anything other than stand there open mouthed as she blushed furiously.  
“You know I think he’s a bit of a smart Aleck.” Judy said as she leaned into one hip and folded her arms over her chest smirking at the fox. The fox tipped his ears slightly when Addie made another series of clicks and ground his teeth and ‘Nick’ looked over his shoulder at the small buck. When he turned back to Judy he returned the same smirk and bounced his brows with a gleaming smile. “They are talking to each other.” Judy nearly whispered while looking between them with both brows raised as her little brother hugged around the end of the foxes tail giggling again when the fur tickled his nose.   
Amber stood wiping her eyes as Juno leaned into one of the counters. “I told you!” she cried as Juno shook his head.  
“Don’t that beat all.” Juno said as he watched the fox turn and Addie jumped into his arms.   
It was late, and because Addie had a very set schedule and routine he was tired. What surprised them all was that the little male had curled into the foxes arm instead of insisting to go into his bed like normal and wanting to stay where he was rather than in his rigid routine. When Judy had attempted to take him from the fox to take him to bed he had screamed his protest and the foxes ears tipped back as he scrunched one cheek into his eye. Judy stepped away, leaving Addie where he was. When Bonnie had returned with Stu they were both racked with disbelief seeing the fox curled into a ball on the bed with Addie. The little buck was tucked under one of his front legs in the crook of his neck. The bottom half of Nicks legs were folded under his chin as it rested above them.  
When the little black ball of fluff had started whimpering in his sleep Bonnie stuck a paw over her mouth as the foxes teeth chattered before he rolled his head over the child. Addie rolled to the side wrapping an arm around the foxes ear before he stuck his thumb in his mouth and settled back into the fur he was almost engulfed in. Judy ticked her head to one side as she glanced between her parents and Amber, then Juno. “He wasn’t cold, that’s part of how he talks isn’t it?”  
Amber had folded her paws as she tipped her head in thought. “Could be, he makes an awful lot of strange noises. Not to mention his tail. So what are we doing for the night?” she asked as she looked back at Bonnie who looked to Stu.   
The older buck scratched his head and shrugged as he looked at Judy. “Not sure I like the idea of leaving them in here together alone for the night Jude. It’d be right hard to get him away from that fox seeing how he is right now, that don’t mean it’s altogether safe. We still got a lot of questions to figure out.”  
Judy nodded as she looked between her family. “I can stay in here with them. Addie will be up in a few hours anyway with his schedule. I can take him back to bed or bring him to you Mom.”  
Amber agreed as she slipped past her parents. “I’m going to stay with Pappy tonight. The last thing we need is him coming in here causing more chaos.”  
Bonnie and Stu had left, the older doe looking back to see her son curling around the foxes ear and shooing Stu out as Juno turned to Judy. “Me, Randal and Steven are sleeping in the living room Jude.”When Judy looked between him and the fox he scrunched his lip as his ears fell. “It aint that we think he’s gonna cause problems after everything we seen Jude. Amber told me what she dug outta him. As much as we’re giving him the benefit of the doubt, that don’t mean he aint in some kind of obvious trouble. The sheriff was too shocked to notice the bandage and you didn’t say anything.”  
Judy scrunched her shoulder with her face. “To be honest, I was just hoping she didn’t take him somewhere after everything the nutty professor said. I didn’t even think about it.” Juno stuck a paw on her shoulder smiling before he left for the night. Judy crawled into the other bed that had been knocked over and set back up, glancing back as she heard her little brother grinding his teeth. She couldn’t see him through the fur as she flipped off the light next to the bed and turned over. The little male poked his head up and the fox looked at him before he laid back into his neck. If Judy hadn’t been so tired she would have seen a pair of luminescent green eyes watching her as a smile crept up his muzzle before he closed his eyes and sighed.


	6. Chapter 6

Addie had woken up right on schedule. One A.M. on the dot, for a bathroom visit and glass of water. Judy had taken him back to her mother and left them to their own musings. It usually took about twenty minutes to get him settled back to bed. After taking care of her own business she made her way back to the med room and almost jumped when she found the fox sitting up on the bed watching the door and waiting for her to return. He didn’t even look tired. She didn’t know anything about foxes, and there weren’t a lot of mammals who were nocturnal that she had ever met, but it registered as she looked at his eyes. The few times she had been with Bobby in the later evening with their little group in high school she had seen the cats eyes shimmer the same way in fading light as his pupils grew with the darkness. She wasn’t going to be able to go back to bed with him sitting there watching her. She shook her head when she realized he had never been asleep and had laid down with Addie just to appease him again.  
Well, she wasn’t one to not take advantage of a situation. With dozens of bunnies and rabbits out during the day who may not react really well to his presence she figured maybe she could do some investigating while everyone was asleep. She held her paw out and he examined it for a second before taking it in his own and pulled him off the bed. She almost had to drag him out the back door because he wanted to stop and look at everything. As soon as he got out into the night air he stuck to the spot as he closed his eyes inhaling the scent of everything around him. He had missed it. She couldn’t blame him either. There was something wonderful about the smell of the earth, fresh cut grass, water on the wind and the sounds of nature.  
“Nick,” as soon as she spoke his eyes snapped open and on her curiously as she pointed at him. “Nick.”   
The fox tilted his head and smirked before he pointed back to her. “Chh-a-a-a-r-r-o-o-o-t-sssss.”  
“No, no, no. Judy.” she said as she pointed back at herself and then to him, “Nick.”  
The fox looked like he was trying not to laugh as he shook his head like he was trying to throw something from his ears and pointed and her again. “Chh-a-a-a-r-r-o-o-o-t-sssss.”  
Judy slapped a paw over her face as he snorted. She shook her head as she started leading him back towards the field she had found him in and his nose crinkled as he looked into the trench. Smelling blood in the dirt he cringed as he stepped away and looked around. He was trying to find something that looked familiar and kept sticking his nose in the air and shaking his head in confusion. At least that’s what she thought. Judy knew it was a lost cause as he kept trying to locate something familiar. The frustrated sigh he huffed as he scanned everything with eyes reflecting light that picked up more than she could see while he gnawed his lip and flicked his ears was matched with him shaking his head. So Judy showed him around hoping he might pick up something familiar.  
He may have been able to see in the dark, but she wasn’t faring as well and nearly lost him a few times. The last being when he had caught the scent of an open stream not far from the house and took off in a sprint that had him alternating from two to four legs. He nearly tripped on the tie and if he hadn’t been in such a rush probably would have ripped it off when he looked back at Judy glaring as she snickered.   
When he finally got to the water she knew why he had rushed to it as he started lapping it out of the steam. Open running water. There was a pond back behind the house between the fields and he hadn’t paid any attention to it at all. In text books Judy had read once that indigenous tribes knew not to drink from sitting water because it could become stagnant and filled with parasites in countries that weren’t as developed as Zootopia. She was lost in her thoughts as he finally stomped out of the water, the tie he was wearing soaked and his pants wet all the way up to his thighs as water dripped from his muzzle. One look at him as he puffed out had her tilting a brow as he shook himself throwing water everywhere, including on her. Judy gasped as she threw her arms up trying to shield her face, narrowing her eyes on him as he chortled in that odd tilted laugh again.  
He shook both his back feet separately, removing as much of the water as he walked back to her still grinning. As the night wore on Judy found herself following him instead of the other way around. Watching him move through the fields and into the woods had her chasing him hoping he didn’t run off and each time she would find him it was like being hypnotized. He walked on his paw pads in any area that had a lot of brush, and even with her ears she never heard him make a sound. Lithe and stealth, silent, and absolutely free. He moved with everything around him instead of making it an obstacle to conquer. Yet every time he approached her he intentionally made noise so she didn’t startle. She became increasingly more aware of her own presence when she couldn’t detect his.   
In the darkness that was lit only by a glowing moon she had found herself standing alone again searching for him. Judy instinctively dipped when she heard an owl and was searching the trees when she spotted a set of glowing eyes locked on her. One paw was on the ground and her ears had flipped back in an attempt to make herself look smaller as she tried to scoot back behind the tree she was next to. Owls and birds of prey weren’t a laughing matter for rabbits or smaller mammals and she was searching just as frantically for red fur as she tried to get out of any available light she couldn’t hide in.   
It was rare for one to attack a mammal anymore, as they had been conditioned over time to stay away and hunt for larger lizards, snakes, and fish, but it wasn’t unheard of in the country. A snapped limb had her whipping her head back to the spot she had seen the bird, only for her jaw to fall open when the fox jumped from the ground onto the same branch. She wished she could see better, because she could have sworn his eyes changed when he landed on all fours in front of the bird that was nearly as large as her. His ears flicked several times as he dipped his head and his tail curled around the branch as if he were using it to steady himself as the owls head turned almost completely around to stare at him. The fact that it wasn’t startled, afraid, and didn’t try to attack him was just another reason for her to gawk.  
It puffed out and ruffled its feathers as it fluttered large wings that stayed close to its side while the fox was tilting and tipping his head in odd patterns and snapping his teeth in light chatters. Patterns that were soon almost mirrored by the large bird of prey as it started rolling its head and snapping its beak. Even the ‘ears’ on the bird were twitching and flicking in a similar manner before it bobbed its head up and down and turned. Judy was bewildered as it opened its wings and took off flying into the darkness before it disappeared. When she managed to pull her eyes away from the large flapping wings and back to the branch she found the fox lying on it with his head resting on his front paws while his eyes stayed on her.   
Green eyes with all the intensity of someone studying a new subject and a hunter kept pricking at the back of her neck when they locked eyes. She should have been unnerved (If not terrified) by the way he kept watching her like he was, moving around her like he was stalking her. She had felt his eyes and known they were there even when she couldn’t see him. Instead she found herself more and more curious as she stood and walked closer. His tail was still half curled around the branch that was nearly as thick as his body. His head rested on top of his front paws, though they were folded under his chin and over each other. Judy could still just barely make out that both front and back claws on all four of his paws were dug into the tree as he lifted his head looking down at her before extending a paw. He was…inviting her into the trees?  
Judy looked up and around twisting her fingers. Rabbits really didn’t belong in trees or too far off the ground. It wasn’t so much a fear of heights as it was - well maybe fear was a close enough word and she was kitting herself. In the city bouncing off objects at higher heights wasn’t that big of a deal. It was an advantage on more than a few occasions when she had been handing out tickets to larger vehicles or avoiding getting trampled that she could jump and bounce off just about anything around her. But trees-moved, and everything in the city was solid, and stationary. Branches swayed and bent, could break and twist under weight and were, well, alive (In a sense not like mammals) and capable of movement through other forces in nature. Rabbits could jump easily from place to place if they could see where they were landing and knew they had sure footing. Two problems they couldn’t avoid in the dark or in trees.  
As she looked back to him from scanning the surrounding trees the fact that his ears had dipped back and he had furrowed his brow uncomfortably with a slight tilt of his cheek as one side of his lip turned down struck home. He was asking her to trust him. After seeing the guilt on his face after everything that had already happened and the sorrow he was showing now she untwisted her fingers trying not to shake like one of the leaves above her as she reached for his paw. “EEP!” She couldn’t help but make the noise as she was grabbed around the wrist by a larger paw and hoisted from the ground feeling like she might fly over his head before she found herself grasping around his torso with clamped eyes and gasping for air. As fast as her heart was beating it didn’t keep her from feeling the bark that landed under her feet, his tail wagging behind him or his nose nudging her head encouraging her to open her eyes as he made some kind of noise between the cooing she had heard him making with her little brother and a purring sound.  
His paws had wrapped around her shoulders as she pried her eyes open and managed to look up and find his teeth gleaming in the little light that was shining through the canopy of the trees. That smile wasn’t shining half as bright as the green reflective lenses she saw herself looking at him in. Another gasp and he had somehow managed to unwind her arms from around his torso, and flip her so that she was clinging around his neck as her legs tightened around his waist while her arms wrapped around his neck. The fox was looking over his shoulder grinning as she curled her eyes again, burying her head into his shoulders as her ears flattened to her neck. She had tightened the grip around her wrists with her paws so hard she was nearly cutting off the circulation to her fingers.  
Heavy breaths and stifled squeaks were halted when she felt his tail wrap around his thigh and curl around her waist in a vice grip and she opened her eyes to see him looking over his shoulder before he was echoing a hollow clicking through his throat and smirking just before he jumped. “NIIIICK!” It took several minutes and a few brief stops with him nudging her with his nose for her to grasp how they were flying through the trees. No he was not actually flying, but she couldn’t find anything else to compare it to. She wasn’t paying attention to that fact that he kept looking back over his shoulder as he moved and was grinning at the look of awe on her face.   
Even in the darkness she could see the colors of the woods flying past like a blur and was captivated by the way he was crawling through the trees. Not even Bobby Catmull had been able to climb up a tree the way he did. It wasn’t like any cat she had ever seen, even though he was using his claws as he crawled up and around the trunks. It reminded her more of… a lizard maybe. No cat she’d known could climb like that, certainly not move from tree to tree like this. Each time he would go out onto a branch that looked like it wasn’t strong enough to hold their weight she cringed or squeaked when it bent. Instead of falling he would use the coil in it and let it bounce him onto a higher one or jump catching one his paw could wrap around before he swung onto another. By the time he stopped moving and was looking over his shoulder with a smile wide enough to crest into his cheeks, Judy had let go of the grip on her own wrists and was only holding tufts of fur as she looked around wide eyed.  
They were standing on a large branch that overlooked a lake she had never seen. As she was looking out over moonlit water that had large lilies floating on the surface and fireflies everywhere she was wondering how far they had traveled. The fox was watching her blinking at the sight before he dropped off the branch and onto another. Judy gasped and clung to him again, narrowing her eyes as he laughed in some foreign sound. “You Jerk! You did that on pur..p..” Her voice cut off when he jumped again into a completely empty clearing above all the other trees. He was watching as her ears lifted and eyes opened going wider than before when she found herself looking over the same water. Only at a point where the moon looked as if she could reach out and touch it. Black skies littered with stars were almost invisible in the glow that was in front of her and the fox was staring at her over his shoulder half lidded with a soft smile as she mumbled….”Beautiful.”  
When she pulled her attention away from the sight she was met with another that was just as….Judy’s ears dropped and cheeks flushed when she found green eyes looking at her like she had just been looking at the breathtaking sight in front of her. In all the rush of adrenaline, fear and excitement the one thing she hadn’t been thinking about was how close they had gotten to each other. She was literally on his back with her arms wrapped around his neck, her legs around his body and his tail curled around her waist, nearly nose to nose with him as he looked over his shoulder watching her. As the smile on his face grew the blush in her ears exploded as she turned her eyes away from his.   
He had made short work of getting back to the farm. At every turn he had taken the opportunity to show her something she had found intriguing that she had never seen in the height of the trees, but was rolling her eyes due to the fact that through it all he had constantly poked at her by pretending he was going to drop her or jumping in a way he thought might make her squeak. By the time they had hit the ground again and were leaving the woods back into a familiar field she had a pretty good gauge on his personality and they were shoving each other back and forth before he took off running through one of the fields. Endearing smirk and all. He had picked up several items in the woods as they walked out of the last of the trees. A few berries and figs, along with wild onions he had plucked from the ground when they were leaving and a few things he had dug out of the earth. He had tried to shove them into her arms before she showed him the pockets in his shirt and pants, but she still had half an armful of things as she watched him pulling things from the ground again and either eating them or shoving them into his pockets.  
Some of the things he had picked or dug up she had never seen before and a few had her wondering if they were edible until he had nearly swallowed them whole. Some of the roots he had dug up looked like ginger and she guessed her father wouldn’t care too much about the few things he was pulling from around the fields and eating. She was just glad he was getting around so well after everything that had happened. She had tried several times to get him to stop sticking his snout under his shirt after he ripped the bandage off and kept licking the wound on his shoulder. She gave up after he had sneered at her several times and made several noises she could only assume were chastising and reminded her of a young squirrel chattering from a tree when her friends and her were younger. When they were playing and got too close to his ‘hideout’, the boy was trying to make them go away from his ‘fort’ by making similar noises as he threw sticks at them from the tree.   
By the time daylight was coming over the horizon she was showing him around the barn and had lost sight of him again shaking her head after he dove into a pile of hay like it was water. She still couldn’t figure out how he had managed to get onto the second story loft from where he had been. She jumped when he poked his head over the edge making some kind of noise that sounded like yipping. He was teasing her with that too, (obviously amused at how she had reacted to many of the noises he made) and had been off and on all through the night. When he disappeared for a longer period of time she was almost frantic looking around for him as she walked into a section of the barn that had been cornered off for bales. “Nick?” Judy walked around a corner with her brow furrowed when she still didn’t see him again.  
She fell back on her rear laughing as he popped up in front of her from nowhere “You dumb fox!” He was throwing his head around with that laugh of his as she threw a clump of dirt and hay at him. He dodged in a hissing snicker as she shook her head. When his tail wrapped around her waist as he extended a paw almost lifting her off the ground with it by itself she couldn’t help but notice when she took his paw he cast his eyes to the side almost like he was being bashful when she got to her feet again. The thick pink flannel shirt she was wearing didn’t keep her from noticing the odd texture of the fur on his tail when she brushed a paw over it as she stood. Softer than any rabbit fur she had ever felt, but there was something under it that almost had her jerk away until her face had landed right in front of his.   
His purple nose was nearly touching hers as she shied her eyes to the side and saw him grinning again as she blushed. “Stupid fox,” she muttered as his tail uncurled from her waist and giggled trying to slap it away as he brushed the tip under her chin. When he snorted she punched him in the arm. “OW!” she was shaking her fist as he hissed through his teeth, rubbing the spot like it hurt as he scrunched his face in faux pain. He was solid! She rolled her eyes and huffed before she stuck her tongue out at him. “Real funny slick Nick.” She smirked as he looked at her tipping a brow.  
“Chh-a-a-a-r-r-o-o-o-t-sssss.”  
Judy smacked a paw to her face groaning as she reached into her pocket and pulled out her favorite pen. She held it out to the fox and he raised both brows looking at the orange plastic. “O.K. you might want to refrain from calling me Carrots. See… this is a carrot. I am a JU-DY.” She said as she waved it in front of of him with one paw and pointed to herself with the other as she over annunciated her name.   
The fox pushed it back to her chest as he bent lower to her level grinning. “Chh-a-a-a-r-r-o-o-o-t-sssss.” He ‘said’ again as he pointed at her. Judy looked at him flat faced and held the pen out watching as he tipped his ears curiously as he took it from her paw.  
“Keep it, maybe you will figure out what that word means.” When he looked off to the corner like he was thinking before turning back to her again, her lips were trembling with the ornery look on his face as he pointed at her again leaning into his knees with the pen in one paw and grinning from ear to ear with half lidded eyes.  
“Chh-a-a-a-r-r-o-o-o-t-sssss.”  
She shoved his muzzle away laughing “Dumb fox. You really are a smart aleck you know that?” His tail was wagging as he stood back up and she shook her head as she looked back out the open barn doors seeing the light starting to break through the darkness. She looked back motioning for him to follow her knowing she needed to get him back inside before everyone came out for the day. Being farmers they had a tendency to be early risers, and work as soon as there was enough light to see for any rabbits eyes. Bonnie had made it clear she wanted to introduce him cautiously and having him parading around outside the farm probably wasn’t what her mother had in mind as she started walking to the open doors glancing back to make sure he was following her.  
That was also the reason she tripped on her own feet and fell. The fox had jumped forward catching her and Judy half rolled over in his arm as it wrapped around her, both of them wide eyed as they came nose to nose again. The look on his face was mirrored as they stared at each other in shock, both their ears tinting pink as hers dropped when she recognized the look on his face. The same look that was staring back at him that he also recognized as she averted her eyes and brushed her ear off her shoulder when he lifted her and set her back on her feet again. “Thank you.”   
Judy rushed from the barn into the open air hoping it would cool her fur before she stopped and looked back. The fox was standing the in a stupor with his eyes locked on her just before a dopey grin crawled up his muzzle. At least he played it off well enough when he got to her again. She had clutched one of her ears and chuckled nervously until he shoved her playfully. Just as he expected the purple eyed doe overcame the awkwardness and narrowed her eyes before she shoved him back laughing about it. She rolled her eyes as they started walking when the fox jumped onto a fence and was walking along the top keeping pace with her. She looked up seeing that grin on his face again rolling her eyes “Show off.”


	7. Chapter 7

Snarlov and Wolford were sitting in a chopper, with a bob cat and a rabbit in the other seat, both having looks of sheer contempt on their faces as they glared at the pair. “It. Is. Forbidden.” Wolford said with a growl as he tilted forward in the seat.  
Jack kept a dead face on him before grabbing a folder from the seat next to him as the cat in the next seat tucked his ears back. He shoved it to the larger wolf as Snarlov tried to contain a snarl. Wolford opened the folder. Looking over the photos before his eyes went wide and snapped back to Jack. “Yes, now you know why. I’m NOT happy about you being here ether.” The buck ground his teeth as he looked at Milo.   
The cat shrugging as he folded his arms over his chest. “Wasn’t like I could help it, he was unavailable. They were the closest thing I could get.”  
“Explain unavailable Milo,” Jack hissed as he set a flat face on the cat while Wolford and Snarlov blinked looking at the photos.  
“Ask them.” Milo said as he curled his lip. “They are the next in line.”  
Jack looked back to them with a raised brow. “What happened to Tyler, your Alpha?”  
Wolford and Snarlov glanced at each other before turning back to him with crinkled brows and curled lips. “Does the ZIA pay attention to anything?” Snarlov almost barked as his lips peeled over his teeth. “Predators have been going savage in Zootopia for months! He was one of the last.”  
Jacks blue eyes set as his ears went rigid and his head turned slowly to the cat sitting in the seat next to his. Milo was biting his lip and shrugged as he shook his head. “News to me Sir.” The buck let his ears half down as he rubbed his temple, both wolves watching as he tapped his claws on the pressed leg of the suit he was wearing.  
“Contact Agnes Milo, find out what is going on in Zootopia and why we haven’t heard anything about it. And tell her I need chatter reports. Anything odd in this area or there.” Jack turned back to the wolves who both still had an angry glare on him after looking at the photos. “Will you help or am I going to have to find someone else? One of you two were next in line as the Alpha of Zootopia’s wolf pack.”  
Snarlov and Wolford looked at each other with a scowl shaking their heads. “Like we really have a choice,” Snarlov said as Wolford rolled his eyes.   
Jack chuckled as he shrugged, pulling out a plastic bag and removing a chunk of red fur passing it to both of them. “How good are you?”   
Wolford raised both brows in a sour face as if he were looking at an idiot and Jack smirked when he found a nearly identical expression on the smaller wolf. “We are the best in Zootopia. We were both trained by Tyler before we joined the police academy and both part of the crime scene, tracking and recovery task force. Does that answer your question? Why didn’t you just have one of your agents doing this Savage?” Jack raised both brows dipping his head as his ears set, looking at both of them with a tilt that screamed ‘really’ as he glanced at the folder and back to them again. “Right,” Wolford said as he looked out the window and cupped a paw over his eyes. Snarlov curled one side of his lip in disgust as he shook his head before snatching the fur from Jacks extended paw. His nose crinkled at the scent, huffing as he handed it to the larger wolf. Wolford curled his muzzle. “Is this what we are tracking?”  
“No,” Jack said as he looked out the window. “It’s the closest we could get. Same species if that helps.”   
“It is a male,” Milo cut in and Jack curled a lip at the cat as he leaned away from the rabbit on the next seat.   
“I already knew that before you stated it the first time Milo. Obviously it is a male. Remember the company you are in. This is classified and on a need to know basis. As in they don’t need to know all the details. No tranq guns either, they’re useless.” Jack ground out through grit teeth as he glared at the bob cat and glanced back at the wolves.  
Wolford groaned as he ran a paw down his face and Snarlov shook his head. “Great.”  
After getting to a site where they picked up a similar scent, both wolves stopped when the trial went dead, sniffing around and shaking their heads. Jack stood at the side of the road with his paws stuck in his pockets when Snarlov tipped his head. “No scent on it anymore, but I‘ve got an oil leak, recent- where it stops with the blood trail. And there’s ugh, like someone dipped or drowned themselves in scent neutralizer lingering around here too.” Wolford agreed, and Jack made arrangements for a car. After waiting an hour for the car to arrive Jack let the chopper go and him and Milo drove watching the wolves out to a large field in a slow moving vehicle that followed. They both had their noses in the air again sniffing as they started tracking through a small wooded area with a bob cat and rabbit behind them. Dawn was starting to break when they came to a large field.  
Unbeknownst to Judy and the fox who were traipsing around through the woods a pair of rams had been nosing around the farm and Doug curled his lip as Dillon showed him where he had buried the fox. “You idiot, you put it in a hole that was in a field that someone else had dug out.” The ram said as he looked around seeing the drag and tractor marks from the day before. Dillon cringed as his brother turned back to him glaring. After looking around the two had spotted a farm house in the distance and were sneaking their way to the residence and staying downwind while they moved.  
Both spotted a rabbit and red furred mammal exiting the woods and after watching them running around a field they disappeared into a barn. “It’s alive, you left it alive.”  
“I didn’t know! What did you expect me to do? I had to chase it for a day and half before I caught it and you both said the place was abandoned anyway!”   
Doug turned to him scowling as they ducked behind a few silos and watched as a grey and white bunny came from inside the barn. The ram lifting a brow as a red furred mammal came out shortly behind her. “I thought you said you shot it!”  
“I did! I’m telling you the thing isn’t normal!” Dillon pleaded. Doug sighed as he shook his head. After seeing another tan bunny running out to the field with a smaller black buck in her arm who was dressed in a pair of blue bibs, the ram smacked a paw over his face groaning. “Did you bring the long rifle?” he asked scowling at his brother. Dillon nodded as he held the case out, showing the box that held two guns.   
“You gonna shoot the thing?” Dillon asked and Doug shook his head.   
“No, right now I just need to watch and see what I’m dealing with.” Doug looked up grinning as he found a ladder, taking the case before he started climbing up the silo with his brother following behind them.   
Amber had rushed out the door when Addie had thrown a fit when he couldn’t find the fox after breakfast. She knew Judy well enough. The crazy doe had gone exploring or looking for answers and after she saw her through the window as Addie was screaming at her feet she bolted. Not only for getting him calmed, but she also needed to check on something before she got engulfed in the day and maybe wouldn’t have time for it later. Bonnie was getting all the other kits cleaned and away from the table with help from her brothers and sisters as they all got ready for the day. As Amber approached Judy and the fox she almost halted in her steps seeing him walking along a fence that wasn’t even wide enough for bunny’s foot to balance on.   
He may as well have been on a high wire as he walked across the thing no wider than an inch in width. Addie had squirmed from Amber's arms as she blinked, Judy and Nick turning when he let out an ecstatic squeal just before he jumped at a wide eyed fox. Judy was laughing the first time she heard him actually yelp when the small buck had hit him in the chest. He landed on the ground in a huff holding the smaller male up with narrowed eyes. He had an annoyed look on his face that melted as soon as the little rabbit grabbed his nose and was nudging around his muzzle. Judy laughing had his eyes darting to her just before they narrowed in a playful tease and he scrunched his muzzle into a mock frown as he stuck his tongue out at her. Something he had seen her do earlier. It only made her laugh harder as he stood from the ground grinning as he stuck Addie under his arm.  
Amber stepped closer to Judy as she wiped the tears off her face, smiling softly seeing her laughing. The purple eyed doe looked back at her sister letting her ears rise and tipping her head when Amber set a cocky grin in her cheek. “What?”  
“Nothing,” Amber replied as she scrunched her lips to one side of her muzzle.  
Jack crested the top of a field right after Snarlov and Wolford and stopped as he narrowed his eyes. Both wolves were still sniffing around but the buck had spotted a flash of red and narrowed his eyes. “Found him. Follow me and keep the civilians out of the way. Stay out of mine.” Jack took his suit jacket off and tossed it to Milo before he rolled his sleeves up.  
Addie let out a squeal and Amber and Judy turned to see the foxes ears lifted straight, flicking as his eyes narrowed several times. He jumped back over the fence, Judy and Amber both shocked at how he sprang over it without even bending his knees to jump before he handed off the little buck to Judy making several ticking and chucks as his ears flipped while his nose was in the air inhaling several times. “Nick?” The fox glanced back at Judy briefly before his hackles rose, the shirt he was wearing straining as his muscles tensed and fur bristled when he turned narrowing his eyes over the hill. Over the ridge, not far from where they were standing in front of the barn at the side of the house a gray rabbit with black pin stripes stood stone faced as two wolves stood beside him, with a bob cat flitting his ears behind them. Amber and Judy glanced at each other and missed the rabbit on the hill bolting forward, both of them jarring as the fox let out a snarl more like a charging bull with a growl at the end as he shot from where he was standing.  
“NO!” Judy screamed as Amber stood frozen, both of them watching as the fox and rabbit collided. As Judy handed Addie off to Amber and rushed forward she was caught in the arms of a wolf and struggling in his grasp before she looked up grinding her teeth and went wide eyed “Wolford?”   
The grey timber wolf blinked in shock before he shook it off and took a professional stance. “Hopps, official business.”  
“What official business is THAT!” she asked as she turned to see the fox and rabbit circling each other.  
“Savage’s business, it’s classified.” Snarlov said as he stepped next to Amber.  
“The Jack Savage?”Amber asked as she stared while Snarlov and Wolford nodded. “I thought he was just an urban legend.”  
“Apparently not,” Snarlov snorted as he rolled his eyes and Judy grit her teeth.  
Nick snapped his jaws with a cut off half roar as he bore his teeth with trembling lips. The buck took each step around his own feet as he curled his fingers and narrowed his eyes as the fox dropped to all fours. Both had rigid ears and deep frowns. When Nick dropped his head and narrowed his eyes the buck squinted as he leaped forward, catching the fox in the chest with his feet as he rolled under him and kicked him with enough force to throw him farther than he had intended to jump. Nick landed on his front paws rolling over his back and bound back snarling as he snapped his teeth again. The fox’s tail was slashing back and forth like a whip as they started circling each other again. As jack leaped forward on the attack the fox rolled to the side, whipping his tail out and landing a solid hit to the bucks chest as he rolled over and turned narrowing his eyes before he stood again.  
“MAKE THEM STOP!” Judy’s heart was racing as Nick dropped again, a hiss from his teeth and a deep hollow clicking resonating in the odd threatening growl as his back arched and claws curled into the earth each time he moved one of his paws as he stayed on his pads. His ears were back flat as Jack kept his up and stiff, the rabbit not having so much as a twinge of a twitch in his whispers as he narrowed his eyes. Both males sprang at each other again and Jack curled an arm around the fox’s neck as he dipped under his chin after he lunged. Nicks eyes went wide as the buck grabbed one of his front paws with his back feet as he flipped over his neck, carrying the paw and arm with him as he went.  
As soon as the foxes chin had slammed into the ground and the rabbit had his arm pinned behind his back everyone heard a solid rattling noise as Nicks eyes twitched. A hiss was running through his grit teeth as he glared after tilting his head looking to the side as if trying to see over his shoulder. His brows curved to a solid V before his eyes turned a darker shade of green. His shoulders arched in rage as his eyes narrowed and a red flash almost didn’t register as his tail flipped up behind him and hit the buck in the back like a tightly wound whip. Jack rolled forward hissing before he turned, the shirt he was wearing looked like a razor had ripped it clean down at on odd angle over his back. A red whelp rested over his cheek on the right side of his face where the end of the fox’s tail had curled around and barely smacked him on the cheek. The only thing left intact was the thick strap holding his holster with a small tranq gun in it under the back side of his arm as he stood again twitching the right side of his whiskers like he was annoyed at the sensation.  
“AHHH!” Wolford screamed as he jerked and Judy shot forward “She bit me!”  
Snarlov was chuckling as the larger wolf narrowed his eyes. “What’d you expect? It’s Judy Hopps.”  
“STOP!” Judy screamed as she ran between the two males who were both in another stance ready to pounce.   
Jack narrowed his eyes as he pulled his gun out and pointed at her shaking his head. “Move, you’re in my way.”  
Doug was grinding his teeth as he glared at Dillon. “We can’t leave with all the rabbits coming out now, and there are too many predators to do anything with yet. We’ll have to wait this out and see if an opportunity presents itself.”   
One green eyed red furred -may as well have been a demon - jumped in front of the doe, curling his tail around her and shoving her back as his pupils narrowed to slits and teeth clamped together with vibrating black lips landed in front of the buck- with every threatening noise they had ever heard him make rolling through his teeth and chest hissing through the air. Standing on his pads towering in front of the buck, Jack didn’t flinch or move except to look up higher over his lowered brow. Nicks fur had puffed out around and under his clothes, snapping the next button off the shirt he was wearing as muscles locked and hackles rose with his ears pinned back.  
Addie was jumping around in Ambers arms and squealing as Wolford and Snarlov both gaped unsure of what to do as they watched Judy struggling to get out of his tail. The pin striped rabbit let his wrist curl, the gun twirling in his finger as it flipped before he tossed it to the side and the fox in front of him lowered slightly just before his paws curled and claws arched. One swift move of his tail had Judy stumbling back and quickly wrapped around the bucks ankle, knocking him on his back and a lunge had the foxes jaw wrapped around his throat as a vicious rumbling roar echoed through his teeth and ruffled the rabbit’s fur. Judy jumped up screaming as Amber tried to turn from the sight when his teeth looked like they might slice clean through the buck’s throat as he narrowed his eyes and clenched his jaw tighter. “NICK STOP!”  
Amber was wrestling with Addie trying to turn from the scene as the buck went limp, his arms falling out to the sides just before his tongue lolled out of the side of his mouth and his eyes rolled back as they closed. Milo was standing there rubbing his forehead as Wolford and Snarlov looked between everything mortified, while Judy had dropped to her knees covering her mouth as Nick kept a growl that was matched with a hollow clicking echoing through his muzzle and throat.  
Judy was sobbing and turned her head, only for it to snap back when she heard a heavy sigh. The buck whose throat was in Nicks mouth cracked one eye open, followed by the other as Nick narrowed his eyes and growled again. “OK-Alright! I’m dead already, get off!” Nick growled again as Judy’s jaw dropped open, Addie was still giggling and the wolves were staring without the ability to blink as Milo shook his head. “YOU WIN.” Nick stood up cackling like a hyena as Jack jumped from the ground grumbling “This time.”  
“YOU KNOW EACH OTHER?” Judy fumed as she stood from the ground.   
Nick leaned over closer to the buck and Jack narrowed his eyes just before the fox lunged and licked him from chin to cheek. “UGH! You know I hate it when you do that you PRIMATIVE PUTZ!” Jack complained as he wiped his cheek over the fabric of his shoulder.  
“YOU TWO THINK THIS IS FUNNY?!” Judy screamed as she stormed between them. Nick was still hissing in some kind of laughter as Jack looked her over and tipped a brow when she balled her fists. The buck didn’t have time to move as she cold cocked him and Wolford let out a howling laugh as Jack flew to the ground.  
Snarlov was smirking as he chuckled “I been wanting to do that since I met that guy.”  
Amber was still wrestling with Addie who as struggling in her arms as Nick threw his paws up and started making clicking and chucking noises in what was an obvious complaint towards the purple eyed doe. Judy’s ears fell and she took a step back, both Snarlov and Wolford glancing at each other before the smaller wolf leaned in “Did she just flinch? Do you think she’s afraid of…” Wolford raised a brow.  
“DON’T YOU ‘YELL’ AT ME!” Judy air quoted as she screamed. Her ears flew up straight as she curled her lips into a deep frown. Addie was clicking and grinding his teeth as Nick looked back at her shocked when she poked him in the chest, shifting his eyes between her, the buck who was raising himself off the ground with his elbows, and the little rabbit in Amber's arms.  
“Nope.” Wolford said as the red furred mammal took a step away from her when she stomped forward.  
“I spent four days trying to keep you alive! I spent f-four days trying to make sure you stayed safe!” All the mammals in the surrounding area were in awe as the mammal in front of her kept looking between the smallest bunny and the pin striped buck as his ears tipped back, his tail curled between his legs and a look of regret stuck to his face like flypaper as he cringed his shoulders every time she spoke/screamed. “You could have killed him! He could have k-killed you!” Nick was ‘listening’ to Addie and cinched his cheeks into his eyes as she pounded on his chest with watery eyes. “You stupid! Stupid- dumb fox!”  
“FOX?!” Wolford and Snarlov screamed as they looked at Jack who had sat up and was wiping the blood off his mouth . The buck tilted his ears forward as he watched the fox stumble, catching the doe who fell with him while she kept thumping on his chest screaming. Jacks brow tipped when the tail that had curled between his legs unwound from his thigh and wrapped around her as he curled his arms around her when she buried herself into his chest sobbing. Milo came and tried to help him up, the buck shooing him off as he stood dusting himself before he turned and shook his head.  
The fox had pulled the sobbing doe into his chest, and she had curled under his chin as he made several cooing and hollowing clicking sounds just before he ran his muzzle over the top of her head. “Sir,” Milo said as he watched the exchange and was glancing back and forth between all the mammals ticking their eyes between everyone.  
Jack sighed as he retrieved his gun and shook his head “Milo, I don’t need a neon sign that says -Hey Jack, this just got real complicated…..”


	8. Chapter 8

Doug was grinding his teeth as he turned his head to his brother. “Four days.” He spat in a whisper after hearing the doe screaming. “This happened four days ago and you just got back to Zootopia yesterday. That means you were chasing it for a day or two before that. That means you didn’t get anything else taken care of. Where the hell have you been and why didn’t you say anything sooner?”  
Dillon turned with a lifted shoulder and swallowed as Doug’s eyes bore into him. “I-I got lost. I didn’t have any reception out here and I never been to the country before. The car broke down and I had to walk to a station after I finally caught it and drug it out here. It’s got an oil leak and overheated. I couldn’t help it! I thought it was going to kill me and you said nobody was supposed to be there! Dawn wouldn’t listen or let me explain what happened. The only thing that scared it was-”  
“Shut up. I don’t want to hear any more excuses and I don’t care.” Doug shook his head as he ground his teeth together watching the rabbits coming from the farm as several of them seemed to be directing the predators like traffic through the flow coming from the house. “You’re lucky you’re my brother or I might shoot you myself you idiot.” They both watched as a pin striped bunny held the door open with an older purple eyed doe beside him as the two females and young buck entered the house. The two wolves were walking hesitantly behind the red furred mammal, while the rabbit in a half shredded shirt seemed to have to urge him into the door after the does. A fox. Doug thought as he curled his lip, not recalling ever hearing of one before.  
Bonnie had pulled several stools out and sat them around the table for their guests with tails. It was unavoidable in a home where longer tails weren’t an issue not to have them at the ready in case someone who did come to visit had one that required a different kind of seat. Steven, Randal and Juno were all positioned at the doors while Stu kept his eyes roaming between all of them after everyone had heard the commotion outside. Jack Savage flashing a badge and saying it was official business and they needed to commandeer a room to sort some things out didn’t sit well with any of them even though Bonnie was being polite. To a point. She had made coffee for all of them and took a stance at Stu’s side watching as Amber passed of an unhappy Addie to Ruby who rushed from the room.  
Judy was sitting with her arms folded over her chest, trembling lips and watering eyes that threatened to crest again at any moment, while Agent Savage was sipping coffee like this was an everyday event. Wolford and Snarlov had taken positions on the opposite side of the table as Judy kept glaring at the pin striped buck. Both wolves were cringing in a horrid array of facial expressions watching the fox beside her. “For God’s sake Hopps, do something he is literally begging you.” Snarlov complained as Nicks head sat on the table in front of her. His brows were going up and down on alternate sides looking between her and Jack, a pitiful whine the only thing that made the buck raise a brow and finally look at him from his lifted coffee cup. Milo had stayed standing behind Jack with his paws cupped at his waist. Amber kept trying to rub Judy’s shoulder in the chair next to her while she tried to keep her eyes off the fox who was sitting on the other side of her sister.  
Not an easy feat when he had plopped his head on the table in front of her as one arm was half sprawled over the table, the other hanging at his side as he kept whining to get her attention and forgiveness. Judy was so angry she was ignoring him completely and Amber was a little amused at the fact that she was still directing her ire at the striped rabbit who finally locked eyes with her. The buck tapped on the table several times as they glared at each other, letting out a sigh before he pinched the bridge between his eyes. He shook his head when the fox ignored him, still whining and keeping his attention on the purple eyed doe. “Judy, do something. That is horrible,” Amber said as she tilted her brows in an uncomfortable twinge listening to the fox.  
“Ms. Hopps, that is how we greet each other each time we meet. It is only in good fun.”Jack stated with his usual flat face. Snarlov and Wolford leaned away from the table as Judy curled her lip clenching her fist over her folded arms as she raised her lips showing her teeth. Her brow went down and rigid as she glared at him.  
Wolford leaned to Snarlov with raised brows and a lowered voice as they both gawked at her “Did you know bunnies could growl?” he asked and Snarlov barely shook his head. They both tipped their ears back as the fox whined louder looking at Judy. Juno, Steven and Randal were all trying to cover their mouths and fighting snickering as Bonnie and Stu glanced at each other. Amber rubbed her nose with the side of her finger covering her mouth while Milo blinked at her a few times.   
“Gosh, if only there was a Moron around who could tell me how they think it is funny to act like they are killing someone or wants to kill someone!? Did you teach him that!?” Judy asked as she lifted a paw and pointed a finger down at the face in front of her. Nick whined again and she almost flinched as he started trying to lick her fingers, but kept a solid scowl on the buck she was trying to burn to death with her gaze.  
Jack looked her over, seeing the scar on her face and took another sip of his coffee. “I suppose it isn’t. No. I did not teach him that. That is his custom on how to greet another male he considers one of his friends.” Judy curled her lip and tilted her ears. “PIBERIUS!” Jack screamed as the fox whined again. “Would you please stop that!” The fox flicked his ears but never took his eyes off Judy who blinked a few times before she looked at the face in front of her. Even Wolford and Snarlov had a bit of a shocked expression on their faces as the other rabbits in the room looked at the buck and then the whining fox in front of Judy as she pointed a finger at him and shook her head.  
“Piberius?” she asked. Jack looked at her as he tilted his head to one side and nearly shrugged as he tipped his head to the fox. Judy looked down at the face in front of her for the first time since they’d arrived in the kitchen and watched him still attempting to half lick her fingers. The thought of his goofy personality and the way he seemed to like to joke around and attempt to prank her at every chance he had gotten with a name so- odd and - serious - caused her to blink before her head fell back and her shoulders were rolling as she laughed so hard she was crying. Amber and her brothers both shook their heads grinning as they watched her while Wolford and Snarlov tried to figure out what had caused her to have a nervous breakdown. Bonnie and Stu both glanced at each other again before returning their attention to the table. “There’s no way he’s a P-Piberius!”  
“I suppose you have a better name?” Jack asked.  
Judy wiped her eyes trying to get her giggles back under control as Amber leaned forward. “Well most of the family has been calling him Mr. Wild since he arrived. The ones of us who have spent some time with him in close proximity have been calling him Nick.”  
Jack sighed as he looked back at Milo, the cat shrugging before the buck turned back to see the fox whimper again. “Ms. Hopps, I’m afraid you are going to have to do something with him or he won’t pay any attention to me at all. I can’t find out what happened or how he got here until he is settled down. If you don’t let him know you are no longer angry at him he will just keep doing that.” Jack pointed as Judy’s face went into a flat glare again.  
“I am still angry at him- and you!”  
“Be that as it may Ms. Hopps, it doesn’t change the fact that it is difficult to communicate with him as it is, and I cannot do so if he is fixated on you.”  
“Well how the hell am I supposed to do it then when he knows I’m still angry!” Amber, Juno, Steven and Randal’s ears all stiffened waiting for their mother to start screaming after Judy had used what was consider a curse word. They all blinked when the older doe just tipped a brow watching her daughter fuming. Even Stu was perplexed by the lack of a response from his wife as Judy’s foot was furiously stomping the floor under the table. Jack let one side of his lip lift slightly with the barest beginning of a smile as he looked at her. Angry female, rabbit doe, easiest way to halt her in her tracks…   
“You could always kiss him again.”  
“I DIDN’T… Kiss…him…” Judy’s ears dropped and turned red as she deflated in the chair. Amber looked off into the other side of the room as her ears followed her sisters, and her brothers all had raised brows. Wolford and Snarlov both dropped their heads staring at her as Bonnie and Stu let their jaws fall open, the pin striped buck grinned as he sipped his coffee watching her, and Milo cringed. “I was just trying to make sure he was getting enough water,” Judy whispered as she looked up, not being able to meet anyone’s eyes, particularly the fox who had frozen in front of her and was looking more depressed than she felt embarrassed. “He was injured when he got here and couldn’t drink anything.”  
“Speaking of injured,” Amber said as she stood up and stepped around Judy. Nick backed away almost leaning out of the chair when she reached for his arm.  
“He won’t allow you to touch him Ms. Hopps,” Jack said and Amber turned shaking her head before she looked at Judy.  
“Why not? And it’s Amber, if you call every girl here Ms. Hopps this will get confusing. He lets Judy touch him, and I took care of him too when he was hurt. I need to check to see how it is healing.”  
Jack looked her over as Nick leaned back far enough in the chair that he looked like he might fall out of it. Jack blew out a breath before rubbing his temple. “It’s complicated.”  
Amber watched Nick stay leaned from her when she reached for his shirt. Judy glared at him “Make it simple then Agent Savage.” She spat with a scowl.  
“Ms. Hopps, I really need you to cooperate so I can find out what happened and-” When she folded her arms over her chest and looked at him with all the sarcasm and belittlement he thought anyone may have shown him openly, he snapped his eyes to the wolves as Snarlov scoffed. “Is there something amusing about this situation?” he asked and Wolford snickered.  
“You have no idea who she is do you?” the larger wolf asked as he set a cocky smile on his face.  
Jack tipped back and looked at Judy nodding. “Judy Hopps, first rabbit Officer. Left the force after a perpetrator attacked her and was nearly killed.”  
“You really are out of the loop aren’t you Savage?” Snarlov asked and Jack looked back at Milo. The cat shrugged before Jack turned his attention back to the pair who were watching Judy glare at him. “Yeah, Judy Hopps, first rabbit Officer. Was attacked by a savage mammal protect kits and when she finally healed up enough to be fired, Chief Bogo was sporting a black eye for two weeks.” The white wolf nodded at Judy. Amber stepped back around the chair looking at her sister and all her brothers and parents were gawking at her as Jack raised a brow.  
“WHAT?! He told me I had no business being an officer and that I was too small to be of any use to his department. Then he said all I would do was get other officers hurt because they would all be too worried about keeping me safe to do their jobs and I was a dumb bunny for thinking any differently! It took me three months to heal well enough to go back to work and then he told me I wasn’t good enough so I jumped out of the chair onto the wall before I kicked him in the face!”  
“Judith Laverne Hopps!” Bonnie scolded as she stuck her fists on her hips. Jack was grinning looking between all of them and watching their reactions. Amber was biting her lip trying not to smile, her father was chuckling, the two gray bucks were both cupping a paw over their muzzle and Juno openly laughed.   
Wolford leaned into Snarlov “Told Ya. That betting pool is going to go nuts when they find out.”  
Jack shook his head as Judy kept glaring at him. “A rabbit blacked Chief Bogo’s eye. I haven’t seen the old bull for a few years, but that would have been a sight to witness. You mind explaining to me what a savage mammal is since we are on the topic?” He asked and Judy curled her lip as she looked and Wolford and Snarlov.  
“They don’t really know. No one has been able to figure out what’s wrong with them. They’re all predators so they think maybe they are reverting back to something from the past. They are sensitive to light, and aggressive to any kind of motion and color. Almost attracted to it. That and the….” Wolford stopped as Judy’s ears fell before she shook her head and waved an arm at him as Jack looked between them. “Scent of blood. They just want to tear anything that moves apart. If it’s colorful or fast they chase it harder and it’s the same with the scent of blood. None of it makes sense because they don’t really try to eat anything they attack. They just…sort of want to make it stop bleeding or moving or something.” Wolford shrugged.  
Jack looked over his shoulder and Milo shook his head. “I haven’t heard from her yet Sir.”  
“Alright, back to him.” Jack pointed at Nick. “I‘m going to need your help Ms. Hopps.”  
“So am I,” Amber said as she looked back and found Nick dipping his head towards Judy again.   
Jack knew he had been injured, but had no details on anything that had happened. If the doe was talking this was the best opportunity to find out anything as he watched her twist her fingers. Judy looked at her sister and between her brothers and glanced back at her parents before she bit her lip. She landed them on the fox in front of her and locked eyes with him as he crinkled his brow and Jack sighed as he whimpered again. “Just scratch behind one of his ears Ms. Hopps. It will at least let him know you are thinking about not being angry anymore and move this along.”  
The purple eyed doe looked at her sister who motioned to the fox and Judy fought not to roll her eyes as she turned in her chair, reaching up and grabbing behind both of his ears before scratching his neck. The fox’s tail was wagging and Judy couldn’t help but giggle as he dipped lower in his chair and nudged her cheek with his nose. Amber motioned to his shirt and Judy moved to loosen his tie as he looked around letting her pull the fabric over his shoulder. Both does shook their heads. “That’s not possible.” Amber said as she leaned closer. The wound over his shoulder had completely healed and fur had even started to grow over what should have been a bald scar over it as Judy leaned away looking at Jack.   
The buck stood from his chair looking over the table before he sat back down and Judy curled her lip. “This injury should have taken weeks to heal. How is that possible. And why will he let me touch him and not her? Wait, if he is difficult for you to communicate with him, how did he know what you meant out there when you were fighting and how did you know about the…”  
“Classified. Injured how?” Jack asked as he looked at the fox. There wasn’t enough left there for him to see what had happened.  
“Classified,” Judy shot back with a sneer and both wolves snickered as Bonnie shook her head.   
Jack looked around and found all her siblings and fathers pretty much gleaming about it. Well, he supposed if that was how it was going to be he already knew how to shock her into talking. “You don’t seem to have a problem with the threat of federal prison for not cooperating with a ZIA agent Ms. Hopps. Since that doesn’t seem to bother you I suppose it won’t bother you to know that when you kissed him you opened a can of worms you really don’t understand.” Judy looked at him with narrowed eyes as Nick nearly laid his head in her lap while she scratched behind his ears.  
“I did not kiss him!”  
Jack shrugged as he sipped his coffee. “Doesn’t matter what you were doing. He believes it was an invitation to get to know you and a sign that you were interested in him. I’m afraid it is little more complicated than that though. At some point after he decided he wanted to get to know you, you allowed him to touch you. He can touch anyone with his tail, someone else touching it is a different story entirely, and you obviously touched his tail.”  
“How does that change anything?!” Judy spat as she lowered her brows and set her ears.  
Jack smiled wider as Nick kept watching Judy, Amber lifted her ears as the fox set his head back on the table and kept his eyes glued to the purple eyed doe with a slightly swaying tail behind him. “In his mind, you were interested. He was curious. Whatever you did or whatever happened you touching his tail was more significant than anything else that occurred because to him it was a proposal. One he accepted after your outburst. Because he marked you. He believes you are his mate.”  
Judy jerked her paws away from the fox with an ‘Eep’. That look he had in the barn when I brushed his tail, almost bashful. Amber smacked her paws over her mouth wide eyed and her siblings went slack jawed as Bonnie shook her head and Stu puffed out like a rooster. “Now just a carrot picking minute!” The older buck ground his teeth as he stepped closer to the table. “You saying he thinks they are are gonna-”  
Jack shook his head and held up a paw “Calm yourself Mr. Hopps. The relationship won’t move any further than him accepting her without certain other events occurring. That isn’t something you need to worry about. I am however going to need her assistance in getting him home because he won’t leave her at this point.”  
“Savage, you’ve got some explaining to do. He’s a fox for one thing and you know way too much about a species that was supposed to be gone a good ten thousand years ago. How do you know anything about how he thinks when it comes to taking a mate?” Snarlov asked as Judy looked between him and Nick.  
“Oh they’re all like that.” Milo said.  
“They? There’s more than one?!” Wolford asked.  
Jack narrowed his eyes as he turned far enough in his chair to almost move his legs to the opposite side as he clamped his jaw together and looked back at the bobcat with a flat face. “Milo,” he ground out through pursed lips. The cat coughed as his ears tipped back and one of his fingers went under the collar of his shirt before tugging at the fabric above his tie uncomfortably. As brilliant as he was Jack was pretty sure there was a malfunction between his mind and his mouth, because there seemed to be a short circuit in his thought process about what went from thought to tongue. Words just seemed to fall out of his jaw like there wasn’t an off switch between the two. But what was done was done so he turned back to both wolves with a heavy sigh.  
“Need I remind you two of the other things involved here? This is a federal matter and it is forbidden to share the details of a case with civilians. I’ll remind you of the company you are in.” Jack stated and both wolves bit back a growl and fought baring their teeth as the buck sat unfazed.   
“I don’t rightly care about any of the rest of it.” Stu spat as he stepped behind both his daughters. “We just got her back and this aint been no picnic so far having him here. I aint saying he’s a bad fella but we don’t know nothing about him or you. You expect her to leave with him? With you?” Stu asked as he shook his head.  
“I am asking for her help at this point Mr. Hopps. For him and your family. It’s the only way to solve both problems. I need to know what happened, how he got here and how I can help him. He doesn’t belong here.” Jack waited as he watched Judy.  
Judy bit her lip looking back at Nick and then to Amber. They still hadn’t explained everything to her parents but as Amber watched her sisters ears fall she sighed before she looked between her brothers. Juno tipped his head at Randal and Steven before they all left the room and Bonnie stepped closer to the table as Stu shook his head. “Bun Bun?” Bonnie asked as she stepped between the chairs her daughters were in and rested a paw on Judy’s cheek. The purple eyed doe looked up at her mother before cupping her paw over her cheek and leaning into her mother’s palm. Bonnie sighed as she smiled, shaking her head before she looked at Stu who let his shoulders fall and scratched the fur under his cap.  
Stu Sighed “I suppose she’s old enough to make her own choices. But you better bring her back Agent Savage.” Jack tipped his head smiling.  
“Could you guys give us a few minutes?” Judy asked. Her parents left and Amber went to the med room as Jack finally caught the fox’s attention. Judy watched as they exchanged several odd paw gestures and furrowed her brow as Jack looked back at Milo who shook his head.   
“Did you understand that?” Jack asked as Milo continued to shake his head.  
“I thought you said you couldn’t talk to him?” Judy asked.  
Jack shook his head. “Not really. This is rudimentary at best. Just a few words he understands and signals we have managed to relate to other things. We’ve never been able to decipher how they communicate with each other.”  
Wolford and Snarlov both leaned into the table watching the fox “They aren’t smart enough to talk?” Snarlov asked and Jack curled one side of his lip.  
“On the contrary, I’d say it’s the opposite and we aren’t smart enough to understand them. They are far more evolved than we are. Everything they do is based on instinct and how they communicate is the only thing that seems to be a significant barrier. The way they communicate is complex and they can’t seem to grasp the simplicity of how we do it, understand it, or make similar sounds.”  
“You envy them?” Judy asked, watching Jack study the fox who had landed his attention back to her again before she looked back and found Nick staring at her again.  
Jack shrugged as Wolford and Snarlov looked between them. “Respect would be a better word, the majority of the fighting skills I have acquired that are considered out of the ordinary, he taught me.” Both wolves looked at the fox stunned. “All I have gotten from our little exchange is that someone was throwing lightning and thunder at him. It doesn’t make any sense.”  
“I think I can answer that part.” They all turned when Amber came back through the door.   
Jack scowled as she handed him a chunk of metal. “Shit…. Tell me everything that you know Ms. Hopps.”  
Judy went on to explain everything over the course of the last few days and Jack sat back in the chair tapping the table with a claw before he looked at Milo. “Take Officer Wolford back to the car and have him accompany you to the local sheriff’s office. Find out anything you can about the Professor and have him transferred to holding under the ZIA. I need you to pick up some fresh fish and a few things for hiking on the way back. If he hasn’t eaten any for a few days he’s going to need the protein.”  
“Hiking?” Judy asked as Wolford stood with the cat.  
“He won’t travel in a car Ms. Hopps. He isn’t familiar with a lot of things we see every day and it would probably be more of a struggle and more time consuming trying to get him into one than letting him do things the way he normally does.” When Judy shook her head Jack looked at the bullet in his paw. “He can find his way back no matter where he goes and knows how to avoid being seen. Under the circumstances with you and this, I think it would be unwise for him to travel alone even though we are probably going to slow him down.”   
Judy looked at him again completely confused “Why didn’t he just leave then?”  
“He stayed because of you Ms. Hopps. Milo, a word before you leave.” Jack smirked as he watched her try to hide her blush and both wolves turned their attention to the pair before glancing at each other with raised brows. Jack dipped out of the kitchen with the cat leaving Wolford and Snarlov with Judy and Nick.  
Judy giggled as the smaller wolf’s stomach growled. “I’ll have Mom come in and fix you something. I’m not much of a cook.”  
“I’ll see if I can get some things together for you and Nick to take with you.” Amber stood and grabbed a large pack hanging from beside the door and went into the pantry as Judy got her mother, leaving the wolves in the kitchen as Nick followed her and then her and her mother back to the kitchen. Bonnie was keeping an eye on her daughter and the fox. He was still looking around fascinated with everything, but wouldn’t get to far from the younger doe. Judy had a slight blush to her ears having noticed his attention was more on her than anything else he thought was a curiosity. The older doe turned hiding her smile and grabbed some pancake mix after Judy had sat back at the table striking up a casual conversation with the wolves she used to work in the same building with.  
Jack stepped out on the porch with Milo rubbing his temple. “We’ve got more problems than I can count right now Milo. For God’s sake when you get to the sheriff’s office at least try to put a filter between your brain and your mouth.”  
“Sir, if you feel that way why did you tell them so much about him and lie, they aren't mates until after the tri-”  
Jack slapped a paw over the cats mouth shaking his head. “There are ears everywhere here! Because Milo, if they are fixated and keep their curiosity on him, it may draw attention away from everything else. It’s a miracle it was him and that he ended up with rabbits of all species. None of them have ever gotten this far out before, and if he left there is a reason for it. Those two wolves don’t know what’s going on and neither do I. This is going to be difficult without Tyler. None of this can get out Milo. We need to get him back and get a lid on this quickly….”


	9. Ferril

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Intentional and unintentional miscommunications.

Under Earth 9

Bonnie had sat a large steaming pile of pancakes on the table and Judy was giggling watching Snarlov and Wolford groaning as they both gobbled them off their plates. The fact that Nick was watching them intently with a quirked brow and curious expression that turned to her after she sat a plate in front of him only made her laugh harder. It was apparent he was trying to figure out what they were eating and why they were using the odd utensils he kept examining even though his nose seemed more than pleased at the scent. Particularly after Amber returned and she had drowned what was in front of him with syrup and covered them in blueberries her sister had sat on the table after she dropped a large pack on the floor next to Judy's feet. The fox's tail was wagging but he had an ominous look of dread on his face looking at the plate in front of him as his eyes ticked back and forth between the larger wolves and Judy.

Amber was trying to keep her facial expressions in check watching Judy and Nick. She would have felt sorry for the poor fox if she wasn't so smitten with how they were both acting. He had picked up the fork and was watching the wolves using thiers, studying how they were using them to eat. It wasn't that he didn't have the dexterity to hold the utensil properly, it was that he was watching so intently on how it was meant to be done correctly and peeking back at Judy that had Amber (and Bonnie) trying not to laugh. Obviously he was worried about what she might think if he did something wrong and didn't want to make a fool of himself in the process. At least not in front of the purple eyed doe who took pity on him and swiped the fork cutting a large chunk off what was on his plate and holding one paw under it as she offered it to him.

The look Judy got from Nick as she held it out to him and raised a brow expecting him to eat it was somewhere between endearing and awe. Delighted when he finally took the bite and she offered him another, only for her to jerk her head as Jack and Milo came back into the room. "NO DON'T!" Jack screamed as Judy turned. The buck watched the fox lick the syrup from around his snout and grin from ear to ear as he smacked a paw over his face and groaned. "Shit," Jack mumbled as he leaned into the wall. "OW!" He screamed again. Both Wolford and Snarlov had lifted their brows as a blur shot across the room and Jack crinkled as he frowned at the older doe who was tugging on one of his ears.

"Don't you talk like that in my house Mr. Savage!" Judy and Amber were snickering as both wolves looked at each other and chuckled, at least until a set of purple eyes that were still pinching the bucks ear in her fingers slashed across the room and landed on them in a dead angry mom face that had them both shrinking in their chairs. Bonnie shifted her eyes back to the pin striped buck who tipped his head in acknowledgment and possible apology before she let go telling both her daughters she needed to check on Pappy before she gave them each a stern glance and left the room. Milo had slid past them and was attempting to keep his eyes off the angry female leaving as Jack sighed.

Wolford leaned over ticking his eyes between Judy and the door her mother left through as he shook his head and lowered his voice to Snarlov nodding towards Judy. "Now I know where she got it at." He looked back and found Jack seating himself at the table as Milo cringed. "What's the big deal with that?"he pointed to the fox Judy was still feeding.

Jack watched Judy feeding Nick and ran a paw down his face as he shook his head. "Foxes are solitary hunters and gatherers. They don't share their food with anyone. It is a….significant step in a relationship to do so in their ways." The doe scrunched her eyes as she looked away from the fox still munching on the pancakes she was holding up and looked at him curiously.

"That doesn't make any sense. He was giving me all kinds of things he was eating in the woods."

"Things in the woods?" Snarlov asked as he watched the fox and turned back to Jack. "What does he eat?"

Jack looked the fox over shrugging "All kinds of odd things, berries, figs, nuts, roots, fish, plants and flowers. His diet is based on things that can be found. Not many things are farmed by him like we do, so this is something new." He pointed at the plate with Judy still watching him expectantly as Amber shrugged and motioned for him to get on with it. "Did you eat anything he gave you Ms. Hopps?" When Judy shook her head and explained she wasn't sure what most of it was he leaned into the table as Milo took a seat beside him. "He wouldn't generally share food with someone who hadn't done so with him already. But there is a significant difference between giving him food or him giving it to you than you feeding it to him or the other way around Ms. Hopps. It is much more…intimate for him."

Judy's head snapped back to the fox just after he bit the last of the food of the fork she was holding and a deep blush ran through her ears as he leaned closer licking his lips and pressed his nose against hers with a Cheshire smile. Amber was silently giggling as her sisters ears fell and Wolford and Snarlov both looked at the ceiling biting their smiles when the fox rumbled startling the doe into a squeak. That sound was at least something the two species had in common. Lost in wild green eyes she sat there trying to catch her breath for a second before the fox nudged her and she blinked before looking back at Jack. The buck was resting his jaw in one palm with a lazy expression on his face before he shrugged. Judy narrowed her eyes and frowned. "Is there anything else I need to know that I shouldn't be doing with him like this?" she asked.

Jack looked at her before tipping a brow "You've pretty much breached every barrier but one fumbling with him as it is, the last isn't one you need to worry about because it won't happen, I can assure you of that. I'd say that's about it Ms. Hopps and you don't need to worry about anything else with the exception of helping getting him back to where he belongs."

"And how long is that going to take?" she asked.

Jack looked off in thought before glancing at Milo. The cat thought about it for a few minutes before looking the fox and tilting his head. "It depends on what route he takes, but I'd say at least a week, just to get there. Then there is the current mess between you two to settle and I'm not sure how long that will take."

"It's possible we may be gone up to a month Ms. Hopps, but I will have you home as soon as possible. Provided you can- not fumble anything else on the way there as it seems you have a tendency to be a bit of a look before you leap kind of doe." Jack smirked as Judy glared at him.

"You can explain anything else and I hope you know Savage- I really don't like you." Judy spat as she leaned back in her chair.

Jack turned back to Milo smirking before leaving the two does and fox in the kitchen. He walked Wolford to the field giving them instructions after calling the local sheriff's office. The deputy had told them Sheriff Catmull was out on a call but would be back by the time they arrived and have all the papers ready for them for a transfer. Doug leaned over looking at the sight grinning as Dillon leaned into the top of the silo. "Finally," the ram said as he flicked and ear. Dillon sat up looking over the edge as Doug rolled his eyes. "Two predators are leaving. That leaves the largest being a smaller wolf. But he's more than big enough to take out a bunch of bunnies and that fox. All I have to do is wait until I get a clear shot." They both sat back watching as the pin striped buck went back into the farm house.

Bonnie was not in a good mood. Wrestling (so to speak) with her father in law was a task in itself and she wanted to get back to her younger kits and let Ruby get back to her usual day. Not that she expected her to be leaving the lower borough for a while. Her dark furred - red eyed daughter had become rather reclusive since the fox had arrived, and the other predators weren't helping her get over whatever had sent her into a skittish state. Predators and prey had gotten along for centuries so none of them had an issue in regards to species, it left the older doe curious as to why she had become so hesitant but figured it was a mystery that would have to wait because under the circumstances, she had another pawful to deal with.

Bonnie led Pappy to the living room, listening to him grumbling about the predators in the kitchen and the red demon that had taken over their house. She turned on a show that left him sitting with a few of her children who were getting ready to help in the fields and still at that awkward age between teen and adult who were helping or entertaining a few of their younger sibling who weren't currently engrossed in cartoons. At least the old buck seemed to calm around his grandkits and get more involved with them than the current situation or company. It was when Ruby had come back upstairs in a huff Bonnie shook her head already knowing why she had returned as she started looking through each open door to the hallway.

"Addie 'escape' again?" Bonnie asked and Ruby rolled her eyes. Bonnie laughed as Jack walked back through the living room and shook her head. "Ten to one I bet I know where he is Ruby. I'll get him." Bonnie walked back into the kitchen smirking when she spotted her son hopping around behind the fox as his tail kept curling around and playing with the tiny kit. The fox was starry eyed (Though Judy could swear it was more like coy) watching a flustered Judy as Amber cleared the dishes from the table. Jack had tipped a brow watching the little black ball of fluff clicking back and forth with the fox. The pin striped buck tipped his head and a brow when Bonnie attempted to pick him up and watched as Addie jumped into Nicks lap. Snarlov furled his brow watching the fox pick up the child and the hollow clicking he was making.

When Bonnie reached for him Addie shreaked his protest and Jack shook his head blinking as the fox started chittering at the little boy. Both the bucks brows went up as the little male sank his chin into his chest as his head fell before the fox handed him off to a grinning Bonnie. "That surprises you Agent Savage?" Amber asked as she sat back at the table. Jack nodded absently as Bonnie left with Addie, Snarlov looking between them as the pin striped rabbit watched her leave and looked back at the fox. "Well you aren't the only one then, because Addie doesn't like anyone and he warmed up to Nick in a way none of us have ever seen, let alone the fact that they can seem to talk to each other and Addie doesn't talk to anyone because he has autism."

"How are they talking to each other then? I thought no one could get through to someone who had that problem and the fox didn't talk." Snarlov asked as he looked between Amber, Jack and Judy.

The amber eyed doe shrugged "Beats me, and I think you may not understand it. It's not that nothing gets through, it's that everything gets through."

Bonnie had been sitting in the living room entertaining everyone when Stu, Randal, Steven and Juno came back in going on about a tractor that was stuck in one of the fields. Ruby had taken point with Pappy after the whole family had gathered in the living room and Addie had wondered off onto the couch watching a program he often got lost in as Stu sat next to his wife. "I tell ya Bon, if it aint one thing it's another." He looked over the room before tilting his head to the kitchen and scratching his head. "They still in there?"

The older doe nodded as she looked back to the kitchen. "I figured it would be best to let them be for a while dear. They have some things to talk about and figure out and I can't really do any cooking or canning until they leave. So, I'm just enjoying getting to sit around with the kits today. Judy said she may be gone for up to a month and they've been in there for a few hours hammering out details for the trip. I was just in the way. They're waiting to hear back from the other officer and agent. They made it to the station and are coming to meet sheriff Catmull back here because she got side tracked. Amber got some things together for them, mostly things they could carry that wouldn't spoil. Carrots, potatoes, beans and blueberries for the fox, along with some camping supplies. She went out to help in the barn with the invoices and packing supplies."

Stu scratched his head "A month?"

Bonnie shrugged "It'll be fine dear. The kits are out of school for the harvest season and one set of paws lost won't change much. Are you taking the older ones out today?"

"Yeah, thought I might show em how to till up the fields for the winter crops, if we can get old red going again anyhow." Stu looked to see his sons walking into the kitchen to retrieve a few things needed for the tractor repair. Not many tools were kept in the house, but a few that were more on the expensive and technological side were often kept in a small cupboard next to the pantry so they weren't exposed to temperature changes or possible problems from being kept in the barn or garage. Randal and Steven leaned against a wall folding their arms as Juno opened the closet door reaching in to retrieve an electronic reader. When he turned he was smirking as his eyes landed on his sister who was looking at Jack like she wanted to rip his head off.

Snarlov was sitting on the other side of the table with a paw over his mouth trying to hide either a smile or a significant frown as his brows curled into his eyes. Jack sat there staring at her as the fox laid his head in her lap. Which only made the purple eyed doe narrow her eyes on the buck again when he got a look on his face that screamed something between 'I told you so' and 'I really don't give a damn'. Judy groaned and slapped a paw over her eye as the fox started rumbling and shot lasers at the pin striped buck as he coughed/chuckled. "You don't really need to Ms. Hopps. It won't be necessary for this. All you have to do is keep him happy until we get there. Like I said, he is going to be rather affectionate with you. If you can't get over that little problem this trip is going to be very…complicated and uncomfortable. We can sort it out when we get there."

"I really don't like you."

"So you've said several times Ms. Hopps."

Juno, Randal and Steven all titled their heads and Jack smirked when Judy sighed and started scratching the fox behind the ears. Even Snarlov lofted a brow as she started smiling at the face in her lap. "Dumb fox." She mumbled as he leaned into her paw scratches.

Bonnie stood from the couch as someone knocked on the door. A glance around and she curled her lip sighing before she went for the door. Doug sat up grinning as he positioned himself on the ledge and Dillon curled his brow and fingers as he scooted closer to his brother. "Oh look, opportunity knocks. And it's a big kitty of all things. Better claws and teeth. Give me the long rifle and put the silencer on it."

"Sheriff Catmull is here Judy," Juno said as he looked through the kitchen door.

Judy leaned over and Nick sat up as she picked up the pack off the floor grunting. "Good, that means the others should be here soon and we can get this show on the road. Geez how many blueberries did she put in here? This thing weighs a ton." Judy swung it over her shoulders rolling her eyes as she stood up and clipped the front over her chest. "Guess I should just get used to it since I'm going to be lugging it around for a while anyway. Is Pappy still in the living room?" she asked and Juno nodded as she stepped away from the table looking back to Nick and shook her head. "You better keep him in here Savage. Pappy isn't friendly with predators and he's already upset we have a few unknown guests today."

Jack stood motioning for the fox to stay put as Snarlov stood from the table and Judy left the room to greet the sheriff leaving the little group before Bonnie stepped out of the doorway. "Hi Stacy." Judy waved as she stepped in front of the door. "You can come in you know."

"He's still here right?" Judy raised a brow giggling and nodded as sheriff Catmull looked around into the room. "I don't want to scare him. I got some details from the station and didn't tell anybody he was here after you asked, but this whole thing is weird even for me Judy."

"Have you seen Addie?" Judy turned when she heard her mother's voice asking Ruby who shook her head and started looking around the room. Pappy was watching the door scowling at the sheriff as he adjusted his glasses and Ruby shrugged throwing her paws in the air as Bonnie sighed.

"Move just a little to the left kitty," Doug purred as he looked down the barrel past the silencer at the end. "There." CLICK- THWAP. The ram sat back up grinning as him and his brother looked over the edge.

Judy turned again as sheriff Catmull smacked a paw to her neck and dropped to the floor. "Stacy?" The purple eyed doe furrowed her brow watching her best friends mother and friend writhing before her eyes snapped back to the gray doe with a vicious snarl. Judy tried to slam the door screaming as she thumped her foot in an alarm pattern on the floor. "GET THEM OUT! GET THET KITS OUT NOW!" With the pattern she had sent out rabbits went scrambling trying to get to any exit they could. The dozens of dozens of different aged rabbits knew better than to dally with a warning alert, but even with the many hallways to leave the room they were fighting to get out as they tried to help the younger kits.

Sheriff Catmull burst through the door growling and tossing Judy to the side. "SAVAGES! I TOLD YA THEY WAS ALL SAVAGES!" Pappy screamed as he tried to stand from the chair. Ruby stood frozen and wide eyed as the large cat landed her eyes on the screaming old buck behind her. Judy jumped from the floor as the cat pounced, knocking her sister out of the way and catching the brunt end of her claws across her lower leg.

After a loud growl was heard all the rabbits and a wolf in the kitchen scrambled to the door. They each ducked their heads with paws over their ears as the fox made a noise that sounded like someone scraping a chalkboard at the worst possible angle and loudest decibel. "WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?"  
Snarlov asked as the fox jumped over the little crowd in the doorway.

"I DON'T KNOW! I'VE NEVER HEARD HIM DO THAT BEFORE!" Jack shouted as the fox landed in the living room. Judy was hissing on the floor trying to back away from the cat as Nick landed in the door way making a series of hollow clicks and a cut off roar before he jumped in front of the downed doe. The cat shifted her eyes and as soon as they locked the fox bristled and started slashing his tail in a rapid pattern that had her locked on him. "Get the kits and everyone else out of here all of you! What is wrong with her?!" Jack spat as he jumped into the living room.

"She's savage! What's wrong with him?!" Snarlov asked as he stepped behind the buck. Bonnie was trying to cover several smaller kits as Stu stayed locked in front of them. The fox lowered his head and Jack shifted his ears with wide eyes. The pupils of the fox's eyes had slit, as soon as the cat roared at him they exploded taking over the white and leaving nothing but black behind. Within the center a blue glow started pouring though like a light that had a ring of his natural green around them and hints of purple at the edges. There was no pupil, only the reflective light from the day sat in the glowing azure. Every rabbit in the room cringed when Nick roared, the sound piercing ears as easily as sharp glass through skin. It was nothing like any animal anyone had ever heard, it resembled more of a deep bellow that someone was screaming through a hollow tube from an unidentified horn or metal scraping against steel before it became a series of short snapped cut off clicks with the same deep roar behind them.

The fox dropped to all fours as she hissed and growled with all the fury of a pissed off cat before she jumped at him. Jack was frantic in trying to get the old buck out of the room as Snarlov grabbed Ruby and they shoved them both into a room before closing the door. Bonnie had rushed the kits she had into another hall as Juno, Steven and Randal corraled all the others who were locked in fear out of the room. Stu stood guarding the hall the majority of the children and family had run into and watched in shock as the cougar landed on the fox. He rolled her over snapping at her before they were apart again. The living room had become a battle ground when Juno, Steven and Randal returned. Jack and Snarlov both gaped as they watched Nick jump onto the couch.

The bristling fur that had puffed out and made him look larger shifted, muscles tensed and locked as the two predators stood off against each other. The buttons on the shirt he was wearing broke away as the tie around his neck buckled and loosened under strain. The seems in the pants he was wearing tore all the way past his knees. The fox's claws shifted and curled as his back arched and teeth clamped together showing through the vibrating black lips and pink gums he was hissing at her through. His ears dipped back when the cougar hissed at him and swiped with her claws extended.

"Jesus! What is he? He's getting bigger!" Snarlov asked as Jack pulled his tranq gun out and pointed it at the cougar. But he wasn't getting bigger. His muscles had expanded and fur flattened to his body as he rolled out of the way when the cat jumped at him again. Snarlov threw a paw over Jacks gun shaking his head. "No! You can't shoot her! You'll just piss her off, they don't work on savages!"

"We have to get Judy out of there," Jack stated as Stu took a step into the room. The movement caught her attention and she turned away from the fox. Stu stopped in his tracks as his mouth fell open and he stumbled as she jumped. A sickening crunch with a roar sent them all cringing as the fox latched onto her arm and yanked her away from Stu and back towards the center of the room before he jumped away when she swiped at him again. Wolford and Jack scrambled to Judy as Juno, Steven and Randal wrestled their stunned father off the floor. "GET HIM OUT OF HERE!"

No sooner than Jack had screamed the cat turned and pounced again knocking Snarlov into a large cabinet that was nearly as tall as the ceiling. The wolf covered his face as it fell and landed on his chest and head knocking him unconscious. Jack pulled Judy back as she clutched her leg and lifted in front of her as the cougar swiped again and threw him into the wall. The fox who had rolled over leapt and landed over the purple eyed doe who fainted as the cougar snarled again. Jack sat clutching his chest as he watched the cat tear through the shirt and tie ripping it from the foxes body before he jumped at her. Each time she would go back for the rabbit he was in front of her again. He had lost count by sheer force of the rapid movements between the two predators as he tried to pull himself off the floor. Jack froze as the fox growled loud enough to rattle the pictures hanging on the wall after he knocked the cat away and took a stance on all fours over the doe on the floor.

The fur that had flattened to his body puffed out as the cougar rolled back over scrunching her cheeks into her muzzle as she roared at him again with flattened ears. The fox bristled, the fur on his body lifted and looked like a wave of air traveled from his snout all the way to the end of his tail as he shook his head to her like and angry bull. Jack, along with the other bucks in the room stood awed as the color of his fur seemed to brighten. The soft undercoat became a deep orange and guard hairs resting over them turned crimson as he lowered his head and locked eyes with her as she sprang forward. He turned whipping his tail and looked as if he was trying to hit her with it until he let her bite into the end of it. The fox surged into a curl and snapped at her as her teeth sank in to his tail. She rolled away yeowling and clawing at her face as a viscous black fluid caused her to start foaming at the mouth. Judy's brothers rushed their father from the room after seeing Jack making a shushing motion and motioning to the hallway.

Whatever the fox was doing was something primal, something that had been forgotten and Jack watched the end of his tail twitching as he stayed close to the doe on the floor. The longer guard hairs that were darker than the others on his tail stiffened and Jack could have sworn they took on a silver sheen as he backed over the rabbit on the floor. He was lost in some kind of instinct. Every sound was magnified in his ears to the point it was almost painful and his vision locked on the cougar who was clawing at her face before she got back to all fours angrier than she had been. Heartbeats, fast, the sound of so many it was distracting. The smell of fear everywhere. The scent of blood….The large cat wasn't the same as when he had seen her before.

It… get it away from the small things. Get it away from the one. Protect the one, protect the tribe of the one.

Jack caught his own chest as he tried to stand and fell back as several of his broken ribs ground together. All he could do was watch as the fox backed over the doe and lifted her from the floor before he tossed her over his shoulder and held her with one paw as he stood on the other three. A loud bellow had the cougar chasing him out the door and he spun in the grass as she lunged for him. Doug sat up wide eyed "What the hell?"

"I told you he wasn't normal!" Dillon hissed as he looked over the edge. They both watched as the fox backed away from any kind of noise and all the rabbits who were working in the fields with a savage cougar stalking him until he got to the edge of the forest where he shook his head making several odd ticking and chucking noises. He turned and ran into the trees, with a savage mammal chasing after him and the unconscious doe draped over his back…


	10. Running Wild

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Devils and Demons.

[](http://tinypic.com?ref=24v1l6g)

Under Earth 10

Juno rushed from the hall and into the kitchen before jabbing a button next to the door. A loud siren went off and every rabbit ear on the farm shot rigid as they dropped what they were doing and ran to the house. Steven and Randal were wrestling with the overturned cabinet on top of Snarlov as Bonnie tried to coral and comfort her children. Stu sat drained of all his color while Jack struggled to breathe as he tried to get to his knees again. Ruby was frozen in place at the door she had been peeking through and Pappy was huffing his way to his son shaking his head. Several of the older rabbits from the fields rushed in and Bonnie was instructing everyone on where to go and who to look after as Amber made her way to Jack. The buck had a blue tint to his lips and she passed Snarlov who sat up groaning. She kept moving seeing someone who needed her attention first.

The pin striped rabbit tried to get to his feet and buckled as he clutched his ribs. Amber noticed his trembling paws and was frantically trying to get him to sit back down just before his eyes rolled into his head and he stumbled to the ground. Milo and Wolford pulled up to the front of the house seeing the door open and the rabbits scrambling around in the house before they glanced at each other and rushed through the door. "What happened?!" Milo shot as he rushed to Jack and Amber while Wolford ran to Snarlov and Judy's brothers.

"It's doesn't matter, we can sort it out later. Right now I need help and so does he." Jack was wheezing and fighting to keep his eyes open as Milo picked him up and followed Amber to their medic room shoving through a little crowd of her family to get to the room. "RUBY- I NEED HELP NOW!" Amber pushed Milo out of the way as Jack went limp on the table. The doe was examining his ribs and shaking her head before she was rushing through a draw pulling out tubes as Ruby came in still half trembling. "Get the tank."

"What's wrong with him?" Milo asked as he curled one side of his lip into a cringe watching Amber tear his shirt open and start running her paws over his left side.

"All his ribs are broken on the left side. His lung collapsed. Out now." Milo cringed as Ruby moved Jacks body to the side pulling his head back on the table lifting his chin as Amber shoved him out the door. He heard them both running through an array of medical terms he knew well enough to know the buck was in trouble and left the hallway crumbling into the only chair large enough for him to sit. Wolford and Snarlov approached him from the other side of the room. Snarlov had an ice pack on his head and rubbed his chest, not that it particularly hurt. The furniture that had fallen had just hit him at the right angle and beamed him a good one. Both wolves glanced at each other frowning seeing the cat in the state he was. Neither of them cared for Jack, but they both understood what the effects of having an injured partner were. Although Milo wasn't technically Jack's partner it was apparent they had a similar relationship.

"We need a headcount," Bonnie said as she gathered all the kits and kept directing the older rabbits on who to tend to. Stu shook his head as Pappy kept scowling at the predators in the room and kept his father from leaving his side. Juno, Randal and Steven had just finished picking up the scattered furniture before they approached the predators, all with heavy frowns and stopped in front of them folding their arms. "The fox took Judy with a savage mammal chasing them. We're going after her."

Milo looked up in shock shaking his head. "That's not a good idea. We need to wait for Jack."

Juno shook his head holding out the necklace and torn clothes that had been around the fox's neck. "We aren't waiting."

Wolford took it furrowing his brow and turning to Snarlov before both of them looked the necklace over thoroughly and snapped their attention to the cat fighting not to bear their teeth. "Why was the fox wearing a symbol from the Nishtlar wolf pack?!"

Stu stood leaving pappy "I don't really care what the reason for any of it is. He saved Judy and me and probably half the kits in the house. That don't mean they aren't in trouble with sheriff Catmull still chasin' them. We aren't leaving them out there to fend for themselves."

"You can't go out looking for them! Savage mammals aren't easy to catch without the right tools and strength or size. We'll go after them." Snarlov ground out glaring at the cat while all the rabbits turned their lips at him.

Milo cringed as both wolves kept their eyes locked on him and shrugged as he shook his head. "This is still a federal case, Jack is out and I don't have the authority to let you get involved."

"Jack will be fine in couple of days." They all turned to see Ruby standing at the entrance of the hallway. "He had a mild Pneumothorax." Ruby rolled her eyes at the perplexed looks she was getting. "Air got between his lungs and ribs, all we had to do was remove it and give him some oxygen to re-inflate it. He'll need to take it easy for a couple of days and then slow for a couple of weeks. You can talk to him in about an hour."

"You aint letting them predators go after Judy! They aint no better than that cat! How are they going to do anything against that red devil anyway! We need guns! And a posse to kill that demon too!" Pappy spat. Stu turned curling his brow and shaking his head before he nudged his grumbling father to Ruby who led him into another room while he kept muttering obscenities about predators and savages trying to kill everything they could get their filthy teeth and paws on. Stu tipped his head and ears with a small grin as Ruby rolled her eyes while she led her grandfather into another hallway. She turned just before she disappeared through a door, Stu smiling as she mouthed the words 'He's crazy- I saw everything'. The older buck turned back to the wolves with an apologetic grimace as Snarlov rubbed his temple and Wolford Shrugged it off…

Doug sat up looking around and making sure there were no more rabbits running before he motioned for Dillon to follow him down the ladder. Once the two had made their way off the farm and back onto the road they walked back to where they had left the rental car and Dillon was taking nervous glances as Doug kept grinding his jaw. The larger ram snatched the case from his brother and reached into the car picking up another small box before he flung the strap over his shoulder. "I'm going after that thing. Whatever it is I haven't seen one before, then again I've never seen a rabbit with stripes either. You better explain this in detail to Dawn. Find out exactly what we are dealing with Dillon. Don't screw up again you idiot." Dillon watched Doug leave and disappear into the forest.

The ram shook his head as he crawled into the car and started the engine. "I'm not an idiot," he mumbled as he drove away. "It's not my fault no one would listen to me."

Doug tracked back to where he had seen the fox and cougar enter the woods. He surmised the thing wasn't very smart. It had left its scent everywhere it had gone and bright red and orange strands of fur were scattered along the path he was following. How his idiot brother had a hard time tracking it and catching it left him shaking his head as he readjusted the case and started following a well laid out path. Might as well have put up a sign that says 'this way -come get me'. At least finding it would be easier than anything else to this point. No matter, he thought as he trudged the path. Doesn't matter what it is, once they see its savage it will be just like all the other ones, they'll just stick it in a cage and it will be forgotten….

Bonnie came to the group wringing her paws and shaking her head, "We are missing someone. They are still looking Stu." The older buck tipped his head and frowned as his wife's lips trembled.

"No, no, no Bon…not Addie."

The older doe sniffled before Stu grabbed her wrapping his arms around her. "I'm sure he's just hindin' somewhere Bon. We'll find him and get Judy back."

Several hours had passed when Jack woke and Milo found his way to his side. Two wolves were standing behind the cat with pinched brows and tightly folded arms as he sat down next to the bed Jack was on. Bonnie was a wreck after not being able to find Addie anywhere in the house and several of the older kits had kept looking into everything and anything they could think of searching for him as she sat at the kitchen table with Stu trying to keep her calm. Jack sat up groaning and clutching his chest as Milo tried to get him to lay back down. "I'll live Milo, I just need a brace. We have to go after them."

Amber shook her head "You shouldn't be doing anything for a few days Mr. Savage."

Ruby came back in biting her lip as Amber looked up at her. The red eyed doe let her ears fall when her sister asked if they had found their little brother and shook her head. "Did they check outside? The door was open, maybe he ran out in all the craziness." Amber asked and watched her sister disappear again as Jack threw his legs over the bed and landed on both feet with a grunt. Amber rolled her eyes as she opened an upper cabinet and stepped to him wrapping a large brace around his chest. Both wolves gave her a curious glance and she shook her head as she pointed to Jack. "I have a crazy sister who doesn't listen to anyone either." They both chuckled and the buck thanked her before addressing the doe and pointing at the two wolves who were openly staring daggers at him.

"You got something of the little ones they can smell? They're good trackers. Maybe they can pick him up somewhere." Jack asked as Milo tried to help him stand straighter. The pin striped bunny looked back at him scowling and Milo sighed as his ears tipped back.

"This situation isn't going to change this subject Savage," Wolford spat as he held the necklace out while Snarlov tightened his arms over his tensed biceps. The buck pursed his lips and shook his head as Amber grabbed a small shirt Addie had left in the med room the night he had slept with the fox and handed it to the larger wolf. "We'll find the kit, but when this is over you better explain this. We don't care if it's classified or not. NO ONE should have this." Jack lifted his eyes to the ceiling as Snarlov and Wolford took the scent, following them closely through the house. Both wolves were twitching their noses and shaking their heads finding the scent everywhere until they got to the kitchen where Bonnie was sitting with Stu. The older buck had made tea and was sitting with his wife rubbing her shoulder when Wolford stuck his head under the table huffing.

He looked back at Snarlov glancing back and forth between two distraught parents as he came out from under the table, one paw full of a box of blueberries and the other with several crushed flowers. Bonnie took one look at it and covered her eyes shaking her head as Stu slumped in his chair. "Oh good gravy," Stu shook his head. "Addie crawled into the pack trying to stay close to the fox."

"Where'd the flowers come from?" Wolford asked as curled his fingers around them.

Snarlov looked them over shrugging. "Nick was eating them."

"Eating them?!" Bonnie and Stu both asked as their eyes went wide.

"What's the big deal, Savage said he ate all kinds of weird stuff."

"Not them things!" Stu stood from his chair shaking his head. "Bon got bit by her brother when she was a kit cause he ate one of those things, got a sizable divot in her arm from it. Why would a predator eat plants anyway?"

Jack shrugged "We know they are toxic but no one's ever been crazy enough to eat the things since it was found out. The effects only last on prey mammals for a few hours. No predator eats plants and he's not exactly either because he eats both. Like I said he eats all kinds of weird stuff. Maybe they just don't affect predators like they do prey." Jack looked at Wolford and Snarlov as they both shook their heads.

"Don't look at us, we aren't tasting the nasty things to find out. Eating things like pancakes and waffles is one thing, raw plants and veggies is something entirely different." Snarlov curled his nose as Wolford tossed them into a trash can. "We need to get a move on before it gets too dark Savage. There's a kit out there and we need to get them back, Hopps may not be a cop anymore but she's still one of ours."

Bonnie and Stu both gave them appreciative and hopeful looks as the wolves folded their arms over their chests again. Jack turned to Milo asking if he had gotten everything they needed instructing him to get it out of the car. The cat came back in carrying several bags Jack didn't bother looking through. He only motioned to the wolves as Milo handed him a shirt. "We'll get them back Mr. and Mrs. Hopps. Piberius won't let anything happen to them. You have my word on all of that." Jack said as Milo sat a bag beside him. "Pick it back up Milo, you're going with us. I can't carry it anyway."

The cat went wide eyed frowning as Jack smirked at him "Sir, I'm not a field agent! I just work in the-"

"Consider this a promotion then."

Wolford and Snarlov both rolled their eyes. Both of them thinking now they had to babysit two mammals, one who was injured and one who knew nothing about being in the woods, tracking, or field work. Juno, Randal and Steven had come back into the room and were packing up several items as both wolves and Jack watched them with turned brows. "What are you doing?" Jack asked.

Juno turned with a hard face as he hoisted a bag over his shoulder. "We all heard. We're going with you, that's our kin out there and we aren't sitting here doing nothing." Jack tried to lift the shirt over his shoulders cringing as he shook his head and looked up to find several sour faced bucks glaring at him. "We aren't asking Mr. Savage."

"Neither am I," Amber said as she stood in the doorway. All the bucks and wolves looked at her slack jawed. "Mr. Savage is injured, Ruby said Judy is injured. Something happens to him again and there's no way to get him help if you don't know what to do we lose our best chance at finding Judy and Addie." Bonnie and Stu glanced at each other sighing. Amber gave her parents a solemn and stern glare as they both nodded while Wolford and Snarlov bit their tongues. Amber collected her own supplies and met everyone in the front room again. They all gathered several ropes and nets from the barn used for various things on the farm to secure the sheriff once they caught her after explaining to the two older rabbits and younger bucks what they might need.

Bonnie and Stu walked them out to the edge of the woods, doling a great deal of affection on their children who were leaving and making sure they knew to come home. After a hesitant goodbye Milo was trudging through the brush as Jack walked beside him, using a long branch he had picked up as a make shift cane while Snarlov and Wolford looked around as if in disbelief. The buck looked to both of them as Amber stayed by his side. Her three older brothers keeping a close watch on everything as Jack stopped. After traveling for several hours both wolves were looking around as if they were confused.

"Something wrong?" he asked as Snarlov and Wolford curled their brows.

"Yes and no, they won't be hard to find but there's also a sheep out here." Snarlov rubbed his eyes as he looked around again.

"Its bunny borough city boys," Amber teased as she walked closer. "There are just as many sheep and pigs around as there are rabbits."

Wolford sighed as he readjusted the pack Milo had given him. "It's already getting dark, you guys aren't going to be able to move in the woods without being able to see. We can keep moving for about another hour but we're going to have to make camp if we don't catch up to them quick."

"How fast can a savage mammal move?" Jack asked as he leaned into the 'staff' he was using.

Wolford and Snarlov shook their heads "No idea. We've never been around one when they actually went savage and no one has ever seen it happen. We usually just find them that way after someone calls it in. It's not like they can just do a running sprint in the city or we have been able to time their movements. They shouldn't be more than a few hours ahead of us anyway. We should be able to catch up to them early in the morning if we don't catch them tonight." Jack and Milo glanced at each other and they all turned their heads as the striped rabbit stepped past them grumbling…

"Don't bet on it…"

Run Run Run, get it away. Protect them, protect her, hide her. Nick had been running for so long that he was panting and drenched as he slid on the earth and turned, marking another tree with his muzzle to make sure the thing was still following him. The night had passed and day had worn on and in his mind and body exhaustion was setting in. How can it keep going? How can it not hunger, how can it not thirst? How can it not tire? His ears tipped forward as he heard another yeowling roar and he darted into a tree. He settled on a branch with his chest heaving as he hoisted Judy over his shoulder and held her with a paw as he lowered his head flicking his ears when he caught sight of the cougar pacing around on the ground. The cats ears were tipped back and tail lashing as she growled and clawed at the trees he had left his scent on and he watched as she back tracked through the places he had left the marks that would leave her circling a large area searching for him. As she disappeared he managed to get his breath back under control and carefully climbed from the tree, tracing back to another place he had passed earlier where a large hollow tree had fallen into an embankment and stood open from the ground.

He climbed up the end and over the top before lowering Judy into an area that the cat couldn't reach into and stopped as he laid her in the bottom. His ears tipped up and he looked curiously to find the noise he had heard and the scratching had him tipping a brow as he took one claw and tore open the top of the pack that was still on her back. The fox nearly jolted from the hollow as a tiny black bunny kit landed on his nose. He fell back yelping inside the hollow of the tree as Addie giggled and wrapped around his snout. Nick blinked before his lips curled and he picked up the child between his thumb and pinched finger by the scruff of the neck standing as he clicked and chucked in hollow echoes. He waved one paw around in frustration and narrowed his eyes on the little rabbit.

Addie's ears fell and he curled into a ball with trembling lips looking back at Nick with the largest 'puppy eyes' anyone could imagine. The fox groaned covering his face with a paw and crinkling his nose. He had been so distracted with Carrots that he hadn't even noticed the little ball of fur climbing into the bag beside her feet. The little male whimpered and Nick deflated before he nuzzled into the little bucks neck making him giggle again before he sat him on the ground shaking a finger at him. He crawled out of the long trunk looking back as Addie made several clicking noises trying to escape and smirked as he returned a few more noises seeing Addie wasn't big enough to get out before he turned and left.

The roaring and howling feline wasn't difficult to find as he crawled through the trees watching her, studying how she moved and what seemed to agitate her and make her more aggressive- nothing about it made sense. It attacked anything that moved without thought and seemed drawn to and agitated by even the noises its own paws were making. He kept ticking his ears back and forth and dipping his head as he watched crouched into the trees, trying to understand what it was and what it was doing. He needed to get closer, needed to understand and shook his head before his eyes darted off in thought. His head hurt. There was a new thing with his eyes he hadn't figured out yet and colors that he had never seen before and couldn't identify. It was all over him, in the trees and on the ground.

As she roared again he left the thought and retraced the places he had been through as they fled and while he was exploring with Judy before tipping his head. He jumped to a lower branch and snapped his teeth in a cut off roar that jerked her attention to him before she was racing up the tree. The fox was moving effortlessly as she scrambled to catch him growling and swiping at him every chance she got as he stayed just out of her reach. Colors fled in a blur before he dropped to a low branch and jumped back onto the ground. He turned looking back as the cat jumped from the tree and raced into a dense section of woods before turning as she jumped at him. He rolled onto his back kicking his feet into her gut and tossing her behind him before flipping over and snarling, snapping his teeth in a hiss as his shoulders tipped up over his back with each step he took.

Both predators had their teeth bore and ears pinned back as they circled each other. Nick was matching every movement it made as his paws stepped over each other with all the grace of a cat as he flicked his tail and twitched the end. The rattle that shot through the air drew her attention to the crimson fur tipped with a blood red end so dark it looked black. The cat hissed as she crouched to the ground and his ears flicked as her claws extended before she backed away. It remembers. Why? He tilted his head frowning and his tail puffed out as her legs curled just before she jumped at him again. Nick jumped back at her. The claws that had shifted and curled into hooks grabbed the fabric of the shirt she was wearing and he swung himself over her back latching onto her neck before he used his weight to throw her backwards. As she fell he rolled and wrapped his tail around her ankle and pulled, throwing her weight off balance and tripping her over the edge of the ravine he lead her to. The cat hissed and growled as she fell into the deep hole and the fox rolled again looking back with a curled muzzle and lowered brow.

He paced around the edge watching her working herself into a frenzy trying to claw her way out and attempting to jump at him each time he ventured closer to the edge. He laid on the ground tipping his front paws over the edge and tilting his head back and forth before he started imitating the sounds it was making. His ears tipped after several minutes and flattened to his head as it hissed and roared again. He dipped his head as the blue azure of his eyes started radiating from a central point and a roar had her backing away when he jumped into the pit. The cat had her tail lashing as she swiped at him several times while he kept stalking forward. Something was there. Something he didn't understand that kept pulling at his chest. An empty hollow sound behind every noise it made. Pain. Sorrow. Fear. Confusion. Anger. A wall of something that shouldn't be there.

Instinct took over as she bolted forward. Kill it. Kill the thing… Instead of moving out of her way he braced the ground and locked his shoulders whipping his tail and moving to the left as it hit her in the face. Each time she jumped he let her hit him, making sure his tail slashed at her until she had worn herself out and nearly collapsed as he stood on two feet again. The cat was panting and clawing at her face and chest, at each place he had hit her. He tilted his head watching her try to pull the barbs that had boroughed under her skin out. Long strands of his fur that had a silver sheen to them were sticking from her body like quills. Nick looked back at his own tail and ran a paw through it, more curious about himself than paying attention to the cat. He stumbled back when her teeth snapped next to his head and jumped back at her with a grinding echo of steel and clenched teeth as he landed on all fours in front of her hissing through his teeth again.

The hollow clicking coming from his throat vibrated through his chest and he tilted his head as her ears fell back while she lowered her head. The cat was growling and backing away as he stepped forward trying not to furrow his brow as she shook her head and shifted her eyes from his when he kept them locked on her. She fell to her side with her tail lashing as he stood again, stepping closer as she extended a claw in something between a warning and a plea. One snap of his jaws and she sheathed her claws averting her eyes as she continued to growl. Nick looked her over and leaned closer sniffing, still trying to figure out what the odd smell was coming from her. The scent of blood was what caught him off guard and he looked to see where he had bitten into her arm still bleeding. The color seemed to burn into his mind as he was able to associate it with something. The rapid heartbeat he had kept hearing coming from the cat had slowed as he reached for her paw.

He snorted at her shaking his head in an odd pattern as she growled again. The cat laid her head down taking glances at him after he snapped his jaw in a cut off roar again before he picked up her paw examining the wound around her wrist licking it several times and let it back down lifting a brow as she closed her eyes. Nick Jumped back out, glancing back at the cat as her breath started calming. He tilted his head as she started purring and digging her claws into the earth like she was kneading dough. Her tail was still flipping up and down as she fell asleep. He took one step wanting to get back to Carrots and the little buck and stumbled before he fell forward. His vision blurred as his head swam and he hit his knees before everything went dark…


	11. Darkened Dens

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Safety Net.

Under Earth 11

Jack leaned against a downed tree stump with one side of his lip twitching as he kept switching his eyes back and forth between Milo and the wolves. Them, along with several rabbit bucks and an irritated doe were wrestling with a tent and Jack shook his head as Milo's ears tilted back. "Why in the name of all the Gods did you get that thing?" Jack asked as he watched the others trying to set up a large tent that looked big enough to fit a small army in.

Milo scratched the back of his neck "It's all they had Sir, I guess camping for farm folk isn't a solitary affair and in Bunny Borough a small family isn't so small. The store clerk said it was the smallest one they had in stock and anyone wanting something else would have to go into the city to get a smaller one. I figured it was better than nothing and I knew you were going to be out for a while. Look, it's not that bad, at least the wolves will fit in there with everyone else now too." Jack narrowed his eyes before he huffed. "I heard back from Agnis too Sir."

The buck groaned as he leaned against a tree behind him clutching his chest. "Just tell me something that isn't going to make me want to rip my ears off again." When Milo cinched his cheeks into his eyes Jack deadpanned him before motioning him closer and ushering him to keep his voice down. "Spit it out, might as well get the bullet bit already."

Milo chewed his lip for a moment before glancing back at the little group and lowering his voice as he leaned closer to Jack. "There's a red net over Zootopia Sir."

Jack looked at him with all the seriousness of a president giving a speech stating they were going to war on live television as he shook his head. "That's…not all Sir." Milo said glancing back to their little entourage again as Jack lifted his brows and both ears. "The Professor that went to the Hopps house, he wasn't the professor. Transfer papers were already set and he's probably been moved, but Professor Aldrigsteit retired six months ago after a mild stroke and was placed in a nursing home less than two months ago after he was hit with another one that left him almost catatonic." Milo watched as Jack's ears stiffened, his face went completely flat and he tipped his head to one side gritting his teeth.

"Tell me he didn't call anyone Milo."

Jack ground his jaw together as Milo let his eyes drift the ground. "They had to let him make one phone call Sir, it is the law."

"That doesn't change it Milo, we're about to have some nasty company. We need to find Piberius before they do. They may be fool headed, but they are driven, intent and skilled. I'd rather be in the company of that primitive putz than those moronic self righteous pres-"

"Mr. Savage?" Amber called and Jack bit his tongue as he set his ears on her. "I need to check on your ribs and the space we inserted the needle to remove the air from your chest." Amber sighed as Jack gave her a dirty look. "It's just observation Mr. Savage. I won't be poking or prodding you anymore than necessary." He rolled his eyes as he undid his shirt and pulled the velcro from the brace around his ribs. Jack hummed and cinched his jaw as she ran her fingers along his ribs. Amber let her ears drop as the buck kept a tight face and curled lip. "Do you mind if I ask you a personal question?" she pulled away watching Jack refasten the velcro and button his shirt back up as Milo turned his head looking around into the trees as Jack scowled at her.

"Yes I do."

"Too bad, since I literally saved your life I'm going to ask anyway," she replied with a smirk as he frowned. "How did you get the stripes all over your body? They aren't natural. I've studied just about every kind of illness there is and I've never seen scar tissue that changes fur color or lets fur continue to grow."

"It's a classified case Ms. Hopps. I've been injured on many of them."

"I think tortured would be a better word with how they are positioned on your body Mr. Savage. It looks like someone smacked you in the back of the head with whatever it was leaving that big blotch there and ran their claws through your fur with it…..at…." Amber took a step back as Jack dropped his head and looked at her with a tilted face colder than Tundra Towns ice generators could produce. The buck hadn't moved a single feature on his face but it was as hard as if someone had carved it in stone looking at her through eyes filled with warning and contempt. "I'm s-sorry, I won't bring it up again." She mumbled as she rushed away from the buck and cat sitting next to him.

"Sir," Milo asked with concern.

Jack slid his eyes over to the cat lowering his brow. "Don't Milo… Ever. Get on the band wave radio. If they are coming we are going to need help. Get the blue team." Milo tipped his ears back before nodding and slipping away as Jack tried to get his focus back. It wasn't until they had set up a camp fire and were pulling food out that Jack rejoined the group and took a seat next to Milo again. Wolford and Snarlov were curling their brows after pulling out several packages of fresh fish.

"Why did you get fish? I mean I know we hadn't planned on coming, but why not Bug protein or foul of some kind? Even Snake and lizard venison would have been easier to carry than this stuff." Snarlov complained as he held up a bag of fish.

Milo looked at Jack as if asking permission and the buck nodded motioning to the wolves and curious rabbits. "Piberius won't eat any kind of meat but fish."

"Why not?" Several of them asked in unison and Jack shrugged.

"He thinks bugs, snakes and lizards are dirty, something like," Jack twisted his lip looking around as he shook his head. "The best way I could describe it is that he believes birds are like gods because they can fly, and snakes and lizards are like demons because the birds kill and eat them and the bugs. But spirits would probably be a better word for it. One represents good spirits and the other represents bad spirits. Fish are clean because they live and move in water."

Wolford scoffed "That's ridiculous."

"Is it?" Jack asked. "You believe in God right Wolford? Snarlov? Can you see him?" Both wolves lifted their brows as Jack set himself into a dead face. "Do you know if he's a wolf, or is he a cat of some kind? Maybe he's a rabbit, or a she? Does he have white fur or red fur? Does he have fur at all? Maybe he's not even a mammal. He believes what he can see, you believe because you have faith. There really isn't much of a difference is there? Is it any harder to understand than the fact that there are still foxes alive?"

Randal and Steven gave each other a glance as Juno leaned into Amber. "This is a loaded conversation that has a good possibility of exploding. There are a few things no one should talk about if not in the company of good friends. Change the subject or they might come to blows any minute sis."

"How did he heal so fast after he was injured?" Amber asked drawing everyone's attention to her and away from the current possible firestorm building between the wolves and the pin striped rabbit. Amber scowled as she frowned "Judy said he was licking the wound."

Both wolves and all the rabbits looked back at Jack as he shrugged. "Beats me. His mouth is cleaner than ours though. So is the rest of him for that matter. He doesn't eat the kinds of food we do, no chemicals used to grow anything, no preservatives, and no contaminants."

"How can you know so much about him and not know how that works?" Amber asked.

Jack lifted a brow before narrowing his eyes. "What? You think just because I work for the government that I am going to just hand him over to some lab coats so they can rip him apart to see how he ticks? He's a primitive putz, but torture is torture Ms. Hopps, no matter how much good someone says the reason for it being done is."

Amber let her ears drop into a cringe as Juno leaned into her again. "Good going sis. I think you hit a nerve on that one. Out of one pot and into another."

"I didn't mean it that way Mr. Savage. I just assumed you knew him better that's all."

"Yes, well you probably shouldn't assume anything Ms. Hopps, at least not in this situation."

"Speaking of assuming and situations Agent Savage, I think we have a little free time and you need to do some explaining about this." Snarlov reached into his pocket pulling out the necklace and walking in front of the buck letting it dangle in front of him. Jack looked to Milo for a moment before curling his fingers around the little piece of stone and looking it over before he sighed.

"How close were one of you two to being chosen as the next alpha?" Jack asked looking up at Snarlov. The smaller wolf turned to Wolford before stepping back over the fire and taking his seat again.

"He is supposed to retire next year." Snarlov answered as Wolford cocked his head to one side. "Why?"

"Because there is more going on here than you know, and I need to know exactly how much you know about how things are run in your pack. Without Tyler I can't tell you much of anything about what is going on if you aren't going to be able to understand or accept it and I already know you don't know everything because of what I have already had to tell you."

Both wolves shook their heads fighting not to bear their teeth as their ears flicked back whole glaring at the buck. "He shouldn't have had that, it is forbidden, what else do we need to know Savage?" Wolford growled. Amber and her brothers had taken a firm seat keeping their eyes ticking back and forth between the ongoing conversation as Jack shook his head letting his ears fall half mast before returning his gaze to the wolves.

"Did you get in contact with them Milo?" Jack asked as he kept his eyes trained on the two wolves. The cat shifted on his makeshift seat grunting as Jack finally looked at him.

"It will take them at least twenty four hours to get here Sir. They're out on an Op right now."

Jack returned his attention to both wolves with a stone face again. "You're about to get a crash course in the way the world works behind the curtains whether you're ready or not. We are about to have some uninvited company and they won't care if we are here or not. They won't care about Judy Hopps, Addie Hopps or the sheriff. We will all just be in their way and if my team doesn't get here before they do there's a good chance they might burn this forest down just to catch that fox."

"I thought you said you weren't getting the Zia involved with this." Wolford scowled. "Why now and what's the deal with the fox?"

"I didn't say they were ZIA, I said they were my team." Jack held the necklace up again. "Because it is forbidden for more than the one reason you believe…"

After a heated conversation and denials of disbelief turning to rage Amber shot from the ground. "YOU'RE FULL OF SHIT SAVAGE!" Wolford growled as Snarlov shook his head. Both wolves were in his face and Juno, Randal and Steven were sitting slack jawed as Amber stood between them trying to keep the wolves from getting any closer to the buck as she held a paw on his chest. The pin striped rabbit just sat there dead faced as Milo kept his eyes off the situation.

"Look, whether you believe it or not it doesn't change the fact that Judy and Addie are still out there with Nick and they are still being chased by a savage mammal alright? If that guy called those other mammals we need to work together to get to them first. The rest of it you can sort out later-after everyone is safe again. Right now everybody just needs to get some sleep and cool down."

Wolford looked down at Amber as Snarlov kept an irate growl going as he looked Jack over shaking his head. "Fine, but this isn't over yet."

Jack tipped his head before Wolford and Snarlov stormed into the tent leaving the rabbits alone with Milo. "Are you serious?" Juno asked as Randal and Steven set their ears on the two ZIA agents. Jack just nodded with the same solemn face before he got up and made himself comfortable under a tree with a sleeping bag Milo had brought for him. Amber sat back beside them as she sighed. "Leave it alone, we don't need to get involved in that, we just need to get our brother and sister back." Randal and Steven looked to Juno who simply agreed before they all found somewhere comfortable to sleep.

The next morning after eating a quick breakfast, packing up the supplies and tent and cleaning up the site they left again following the same trail. An hour later both wolves were going in circles, not due to the path they were following, but due to something they had both noticed and couldn't make sense of. "What is it?" Jack asked and received no answer other than dirty looks." Jack rolled his eyes and motioned to Amber, the tan doe stepping between them with her paws on her hips stopping them in their tracks as her foot thumped the ground.

"I'm not old enough to be your mother, so don't make me sound like one by telling you both to act your age! We have to work together whether you like it or not, whether you like him or not, whether you believe what he said or not. I'm not going to be a go between for the silent treatment! Talk to him!" Wolford and Snarlov both yelped as she snatched a chunk of the fur on their chests pulling them to her level. "Talk to him- that is my family out there!" Juno, Randal and Steven were silently snickering as both wolves stood back up rubbing their chest before she stomped off.

"Damn, I think all the Hopps does are like that," Snarlov said as he cringed still rubbing the spot she had yanked the fur on his chest.

"I HEARD THAT!"

Wolford sighed as he turned to Jack. "It's the sheep," Jack gave him an expectant look as him and Snarlov exchanged a glance. "He's not a camper or someone out in the woods doing whatever they do out here. He's following them."

"Following them?"

"Yeah," Snarlov tilted his head. "His tracks are staying along the path. That's not all. He's also wearing the same kind of scent neutralizer we found where we lost the trail on the fox, or he's been around someone who was using it a lot."

Amber and her brothers lifted their ears looking back and forth between them as Jack groaned and leaned into his stick rubbing his temple. "Well bite me in the ass, that's just grand…"

Doug was not a happy camper. Spending the night in the woods was about the worst kind of hell he could have imagined and waking up finding cockle burs and spurs stuck in all his wool didn't help. It had taken him hours to pick them all out as he kept walking the trail, frustration mounting regarding how far the fox could have gotten because he should have caught up to them by now and there was still no sign of them. He was sure when he got back to Zootopia he was going to ring his brothers scrawny neck if Dawn hadn't already killed him. At this point he thought that might be a real possibility if she found out how long he had taken to get back into town and hadn't got anything done yet. "I just gotta find that fox or she'll end up with me in her sights too…"

Nick woke up trembling and disoriented. His body felt different and head ached worse than it had. Opening his eyes was a slow process that had him squinting and grunting before he managed to pull himself off the ground. He had never felt this way before. Tired, exhausted and weak with limbs that felt like they weighed too much and were hard to move. Everything else was going to have to wait. The only reason he could feel this bad was the one thing he knew he needed more than anything else as he scented the air and caught the smell of running water. After staggering for what felt like forever he finally found the stream he had been searching for, diving into it as he lapped up the water and let it pull away the aches from his body. He shook himself as he sat back up, noticing his fur was the way it had always been and the sight of the odd colors he had noticed earlier were gone.

The silver sheen that had been on his tail was gone, his claws had flattened back out and the water had rinsed away any lingering scent he had on him from wrestling with the cat and sweating. He laid back letting it keep cooling the aches before almost rolling his eyes and standing, knowing he had to get back to work so he could get back to Carrots and the little buck he had left with her. After jumping around several boulders set in the stream he was grinning as he spotted a little dip where several large catfish were dug into the sand. It was the perfect time of year to catch them as he plunged in and waited for them to attack his paws. After twenty minutes he had several large fish he was struggling to wrestle back over the stream before he made his way back to the cat he had left. She was still sleeping so he tossed one of the fish in before sitting and gutting the ones he had burying the waste before he ate them raw. He still wasn't entirely sure what all had happened. He remembered it, he just didn't understand it. At the moment he didn't care. He had a full belly, was cooled by the water and warm under the sun shining through the trees as he took another glance at the cat and left her returning to the path that led back to Carrots and her little brother….

Darkness, warmth a musty smell and a chill. Judy woke with her nose twitching at the scent. She hissed and tried to clutch her leg before turning her head as Addie curled around her neck again. She would have been panicked if she weren't in so much pain she could barley move. She didn't know where she was, how she had gotten there or why her little brother was with her in what appeared to be a dark tunnel. The pack on her back had been torn open at the top and she barely managed to get a bottle of water before struggling to get it open. Addie sat up blinking as she tried to hold it for a drink and dropped it. The small buck picked it up helping her before she caught her breath coughing and trying to see where they were again. Addie didn't seem concerned but the only thing she could see was the light coming from the top of whatever they were in. A tree? She fought to keep her eyes open as Addie curled into her neck again and feebly wrapped an arm around him. The aching through all her muscles and shivering set off alarms when she pulled back the memory of what had happened before Nick had jumped in front of her.

I got scratched by a big cat. Please don't let me die here with Addie alone in thi- Judy lifted heavy lids as she heard something crawling and scratching at the tree. A dark figure appeared in the opening and she whimpered as it descended until she caught the sight of orange fur. She tried to scoot away from Nick as he tilted his head and let his eyes go wide. She was sweating and shivering and afraid. Nick looked her over and Addie jumped at him again, the doe whining as she reached for her little brother, not sure what she thought about the fox after what she had seen him do. Nick sat Addie down ushering him back to Judy as he took hold of her leg. He ripped the jeans up to her knee and Addie was holding one of her ears as him and Nick kept making noises at each other. Judy cringed as Nick leaned closer sniffing her leg and pulled Addie closer as Nick licked her leg. Don't eat me! Not in front of….

The doe had tried to pull away from him and he yanked her leg back with a look of annoyance she read easily enough as he curled his lip over one tooth…. (QUIT IT!). Judy and Nick were both a little baffled by what happened next. Judy stopped squirming and went limp after he licked the wound the second time. Pain fled and she was overcome with a warm sensation as every muscle relaxed and her eyes grew heavy as Addie curled around her neck again. Nick lifted a brow as she giggled several times before she was old cold. The fox looked up frowning as a boom of thunder shot through the air, huffing as he picked her up throwing her over his shoulder before he latched onto Addie by the scruff of the neck. He had to get her somewhere she was going to be warm and where he could keep an eye on the cat. That only left one option as he crawled out of the tree trying to manage her, the bag and a small kit in his mouth.

After getting out of the tree Nick sat the little bunny down and wrapped his tail around him carrying the giggling boy back to where he had left the cat and he started digging. The fox was annoyed on more than one occasion as Addie kept trying to look over the edge of the little ravine where the cougar was now swishing her tail around licking her paws. He ended up just keeping the child lifted from the ground wrapped in his tail as Judy kept opening her eyes furrowing her brow watching him. How can he dig like that? Rabbits can't even dig like that? Why is he digging? When she tried to sit up to get a better look he had disappeared under the earth and was still throwing dirt out when she heard sheriff Catmull growling and managed to move herself over to see down to where she was. "Stacy?" Judy cringed when she saw the fish that had been nearly devoured but was shaking her head watching her friend.

There were silver strands of something stuck in her fur at different places that looked like needles and the cat wasn't acting normally for herself or a savage mammal. She was just- there, laying on the ground with her tail swishing back and forth as she licked her paw and ran it over her face like she was giving herself a bath. "Stacy?" she asked again with teary eyes as the cat looked up at her. The feline stood up coming over to where Judy was as her lips trembled and the cat actually tried to lean up on the bank looking back at her curiously. Judy reached for her losing her grip and started slipping only to be caught by the back of her shirt by a chittering and aggravated fox who lifted her off the ground. She's crying. Stacy is crying. "Nick stop! Put me back down… I-" the sight of Addie wrapped in his tail had her stall along with the heat of pain racing through her leg and up her thigh. Another sense of panic set in as the fox started dragging her into a hole in the ground while she continued to wrestle with him. I don't want to be buried alive!

Addie crawled around her neck after Nick had drug her in and she clutched her brother as she watched him cover the entrance with a large piece of fallen timber or bark, making any escape impossible for her or her brother. "Jack –Jack." Addie purred as Judy tried to see into any of the darkness. Did Addie meet Jack? He was in the kitchen with all of us. Nick is waiting for Jack? This is a borough- a den? Judy was sniffling as Addie curled around her and squeaked when she felt Nick lift her and curl around behind her in a way that left him licking her leg again. The same comfortable warmth settled into her skin and she fought not to giggle again from the sensation, resting her head into Nicks neck as he ran his muzzle over the top of her head rumbling. She found herself falling into his fur and another kind of warmth as he wrapped around her and Addie in a tight ball of fluff as his tail covered their heads in the darkness.


	12. Fight or Flight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things That Bug You.

Under Earth 12

"Mr. and Mrs. Hopps, I'm agent Savage and this is my associate Milo Grables. We are both active agents of the ZIA." Jack stated as he shook Stu's paw after showing his credentials. Bonnie bit her lip watching Judy uncurl from the fox before she stomped away from him folding her arms as she tried to recompose herself. The fox stood there bewildered as she stepped away each time he tried to get closer to her. Addie was clicking and chucking in Ambers arm as she wrapped the other arm around her sisters shoulder. Nicks ears dipped back as Juno, Randal and Steven came out of the house directing all the other rabbits to avoid the situation after they heard the commotion. "We're pursuing a Federal case and need assistance and some privacy to sort some things out regarding your guest."

Bonnie and Stu glanced at each other and called for their oldest and most trusted bucks before they introduced their sons to the two agents "This is agent Savage and agent Grables," Stu said as he pointed to each of them.

"I prefer just Milo Sir," the cat stated as Stu tipped his hat and then lead them into the house. Once everyone was inside the three older bucks took positions at the doors making sure they wouldn't be disturbed at their father's request. Amber handed Addie to Ruby who fled from the room as they all took seats. Milo had stood behind the pin striped buck and tipped his ears back as Jack repositioned his gun holster so his shirt wouldn't fall off. "Jack," he asked as he looked at the tattered shirt.

"Its fine Milo, I can get a new shirt."

Judy had woke several times and still couldn't figure out why she kept having the same dream, not really a dream as the memory of what had happened after the little fiasco out by the barn. There was no way to keep track of time in the darkness. The lull of falling rain had soothed her into a place she hadn't found in months, of course it also could have been the fact that she was currently wrapped in a living blanket that had a heartbeat that sounded like the rhythm of a new song you couldn't get the tune of out of your head and just wanted to keep listening to forever. That and the fact that each time she had so much as cringed the fox had lifted slightly licking her leg and pulling her back into a comfortable stupor as she curled into his fur with Addie still wrapped around her neck.

The few times she had managed to get a good glimpse of what was going on she thought she might burst into flames. The first time was due to the fact she had woke herself up because she was purring and nudging into the foxes neck making Addie giggle. A momentary fleeting question about why her little brother was so calm dissipated as she realized what she was doing and if she'd had the strength would have jerked away. Instead she found herself looking up into the silver shine of eyes and could barely make out the smirk on his face that turned to a wide smile before he was rumbling in a constant vibration that felt like she was being rocked in her favorite hammock out by the old shed or riding on a train that would lull you back to sleep. She nearly lost her breath when he pushed his muzzle under her chin and rolled his head around hers before he licked her leg again and she fell back into his fur. Each other little moment she had woke he was either curled around her in a comfortable fluff or she had rolled her head, unable to keep her eyes open, but was well aware of the fact that he wasn't sleeping because he had lifted his head and was silently watching her.

She would have tried to push him away with the odd sensation of his teeth nipping through her fur but ended up giggling when he licking her face and neck just after the odd behavior. This must be something she didn't understand in fox behavior. It had to be some kind of grooming as he seemed to be removing the sweat from her fur before he was making odd cooing sounds and rumbling again. Judy sighed and let it go as Addie kept curling into her neck, while Nick kept curling around the both of them. She stopped fighting the heavy feeling of her eyes and limbs, and fell in to the fur she was encased in, falling asleep with her head on his neck, Addie in her arms and his heartbeat, the sound of the rain and the vibrations from his chest rolling through her in the warmth of his embrace not knowing they had spent nearly an entire day sleeping and going into the night….

Doug was not faring as well. Wool was a wonderful thing. It had been 'harvested' for centuries to keep other mammals warm if they weren't built for colder weather and climates. It could save lives and had brought fortune to many sheep families and herds over the years. It was wonderful- unless it was wet. Those same centuries of being conditioned to live indoors and out of the weather had negated the undercoat sheep had once had that insulated their bodies if they weren't stationed in a cold climate, and Doug hadn't been since he was a kid. So he was currently huddled under a tree shivering and soaked to the bone as he shook his head grumbling about murdering his brother when he got home and wishing he had thought things out a little better. "Of course none of this would be happening if that idiot had done things right to begin with," he cursed to himself as he wiped his face again.

He had been following that thing for two days already. He was growing more and more irate with every passing second. He was wet, cold and hungry. Although it was technically possible for him to eat the grass and several plants out here in the –wilderness- he was not a wild animal and wouldn't stoop to that level. He much rather preferred staying hungry and using it as another means to fuel his desire to succeed. The only thing that kept the sound of his grumbling and complaining belly at bay and unheard was the cracking of lighting and thunder and the howling wind that kept chilling him to the bone as he ground his teeth together. The case he had been carrying had been discarded in favor of carrying both guns with a strap over his shoulder after the weight of it became annoying trudging through all the brush. Now he wished he had kept the thing so he could at least use it to cover his head from the pouring rain. "I'm going to kill him myself when I get back….."

Amber woke with the crack of thunder and bolted from the tent floor. It wasn't uncommon for rabbits not to care much for the sound. By nature they were meant to be underground away from the thunder and rain, so the vibration always caused a jolt of fear and ringing in sensitive ears if it was close enough. As rain started falling on the tent she jumped from the ground and rushed out into the rain, spotting Jack and Milo both still curled under the tree. The cat was curled into the bag with his lips just as tightly wound as he was in the fabric shaking his head. Jack was just laying there letting the water drip on his face as if it was a normal occurrence and Amber shook her head as she rushed to both of them and stopped thumping her foot into the ground that was slowly being soaked. "Get up and get in the tent."Milo glanced at Jack who motioned that way and the cat was gone faster than Amber thought he could move. "You too Mr. Savage."

The buck opened an eye on the lantern she was holding scowling as he blinked trying to keep the water from getting in his eyes before he sat up "You aren't going to leave me alone until I do are you?" When she folded her arms letting the lantern dangle at her side glaring at him Jack sighed as he got out of his bag, picked it up and cringed as he leaned back up. The amber eyed doe lifted a stern brow as he rolled his eyes. "Yes, mother." Jack snickered as he looked back to see her narrowing her eyes and moved a little faster when he saw her foot tilt from the ground. He was pretty sure if he wasn't injured she probably would have kicked him square in the ass as he slid into the tent still chuckling and took a position on the floor next to Milo. Both of them curling back into their bags as the doe seemed to give them a smirk before she rolled over…

Nick woke with tiny paws clutching at his fur and lifted his head seeing a tiny buck hopping around in a frantic pattern that had him chuckling before he unwound himself from around the doe still wrapped in his form. A few minor adjustments and the little boy was scurrying out of the den beside a tree and Nick laughed as he let out a long lingering sigh while he relieved himself. Something the fox also needed to take care of while he kept on eye on the little boy who was now hopping around the trees and grabbing at branches. He had been cooped up in a bag the whole time they had been running, maybe sleeping due to the fact that he had gorged himself on several of the foods that were in it, but with that and being in a den for more than a day he obviously needed to burn off some energy.

The little boy had been munching on things in the den off and on through the night and seemed to have a reserve built up. The fox hopped around playing with him and chased him through the grass only to turn and let him do the same for what seemed like hours. He kept taking tentative glances into the ravine watching the cat who had curled into a crook out of the rain and was still sleeping. Once Addie had sufficiently burned off the energy he had built up from being idle for so long Nick laid down keeping an eye on him as he wondered around exploring, both of them chucking and clicking at each other with Addie grinding his teeth in odd patterns. The cougar he was keeping an eye on stirred and stretched her front legs out in a wide yawn as she crawled out from her little hollow. The fox tilted his head as she sat down and blinked at him a few times mirroring the gesture before she walked towards him on all fours. Nick checked Addie again as she leaned on the embankment and seemed to reach a paw towards him. The fox reached back smirking as she managed to touch his paw while she attempted to make several of the sounds he couldn't understand. The small silver pieces of fur that had stuck to her were nearly gone and he twisted his head trying to figure out how they had gotten shorter or if she had managed to pull them out. The fox had lifted his head chittering a few times when Addie attempted to get out of sight or to close to the edge of his guard…..

Judy woke to the sensation of tickling and felt something crunch under her paw as she tried to sit up. Nicks ears set in alarm when a shriek of horror had him shooting from the ground. He bolted catching Addie in his tail before he rushed back to the den on all fours throwing the log off and finding Judy scrambling from the earth in a panic. As soon as he managed to pull her out by the arms she shoved him away and he was shaking his head as she stripped herself of her shirt throwing it to the ground as she stumbled and tripped several times seeming to be in some kind of hysterical fit. "Get them off! Get them off!" She screamed as she tried to hold her weight up and stumbled on her injured leg again. Addie was wide eyed as Nick looked back at him just as confused until he turned and she was swiping her paws on her arms when he saw her back. She was covered in May beetles, commonly known as June bugs. Everybody has that one thing that creeps them out, this just happened to be hers.

The only kind of bug Judy was afraid of. Being on a farm you got used to the things being around and they didn't bother her all that much. Sure a spider or some unexpected critter might startle her, but for some reason she hated the things. They made weird noises, were creepy to touch and had a tendency to get stuck in your fur and when they did you couldn't get the nasty things out. The things just flew into you like they were blind out of nowhere. Nick clamped a paw over his muzzle as he tried to stifle his chuckling and almost broke as she turned to face him. Her ears dropped and eyes were as wide as tilted saucers about to spill before she curled her arms around herself and fell to the ground in a ball of sobbing bunny. A glance back at Addie had Nicks ears dipping to his head as he walked to her sitting on the ground and curling around the little female as she fell apart.

Nick swiped off the few remaining bugs keeping her from noticing them as she balled into his chest. She was at her breaking point and all it took was few little bugs. He hadn't even considered the fact that all this was as new to her as all the things he had seen where she was from. Nick wrapped his tail around her landing Addie in her arms as he kept cooing and petting her ears trying to calm her down as she clung to him.

"I'm half naked in front of a fox and I can't even pee out here!" she whined as she kept herself close to his chest and tried to bury herself in his neck. For several reasons, one she was mortified at having lost her shirt even though she still had her bra on, two she just made a fool of herself because of some stupid bugs, three, the last thing she wanted right now was to be alone and still in pain, not able to walk by herself. Now she wished she had paid more attention when her family was camping instead of being buried in a book and hiding in a tent the whole time they were out in the woods. Addie was grinding his teeth again and Judy slapped Nick's chest as he started a low chortle in an odd tilted laugh again. "Don't laugh at me you dumb fox!"

Addie was looking up between them as he sat in Judy's arm between their chests as Nick lifted her chin swiping a tear away as he smiled softly. She squeaked as he picked them both up and took her to a large tree where he sat her down and took Addie turning as she leaned against the tree. He leaned over the other side smirking as he let his tail land in front of her and Addie dipped over his shoulder "PEE!" Judy cringed as Nicks tail stayed around the front of her and he pulled Addie to his front as his tail kept her from falling forward while she did her business. Yep, this was probably more humiliating than being fired from the ZPD and having everyone laughing about it. But as she finally collected herself and tried to step around the tree, the look on his face was anything but mocking as he hoisted her off the ground again keeping that same smile locked on her. Her ears bloomed as Addie landed on her chest again, the fox smiling wider as she averted her eyes.

Her little brother was acting just as attentive and she couldn't help but giggle and get teary eyed as he nudged around her neck while Nick carried them both. It wasn't like him to be terribly affectionate with anyone except Ruby and their mother and father. The fox knew she was upset and figured he had a good idea of the one thing that might cheer her up, even if he couldn't explain it. He heard the cat yowl when Judy screamed and figured if she saw her friend it might make her feel better as he sat down next to the edge again wrapping his tail around the curious little buck before he tried to lean in too far as Judy sat up in his lap. Judy leaned over blinking as the cougar tipped up on the side of the embankment again, only this time she did something that caught Judy more off guard than seeing her go savage or the state she was in when she had seen her here the first time.

She put her paws over her eyes and peeked out from behind them almost smiling and Judy sobbed. "Stacy…?" It had been a running gag with Bobby for years that when he was younger he always got stuck in a tree and the only way to get him down before Judy had discovered the laser light was getting him to cover his eyes and pretend like he was playing hide and seek until someone could climb up to get him. They teased each other with it until it became a common practice of welcome when they all met up or passed each other in a hurry as a way to say I see you and I know you're here when they didn't have time to stop and chat. "Can you understand me?" The cougar tilted her head and backed away from the embankment before she was stretching with all the grace of a cat and flopped onto the ground licking her paws and purring again. Judy's mind was racing as she shook her head trying to understand what was going on. "We need to get her home."

"Jack-Jack," Addie said as he pointed to the cougar.

Judy looked at him curling her brow and the dreams registered. "How do you know first his name? You weren't in the kitchen when we heard his name." The little buck pointed at Nick and Judy turned her head as he ticked his eyes between her and her brother. "It's a pattern isn't it Addie?! Some kind of pattern you can hear? OH Nick!" The fox jerked back slightly raising a brow as she shot up on his lap and Addie squeaked as she lifted him up. "Addie can you ask him what happened?"

He gave her a tilted head and a confused look as he glanced between the fox and his sister "No-No."

Judy deflated and she sat Addie back in her lap as she let her eyes fall with her ears. She should have known better than to jump to a conclusion like that. It was forgotten and replaced with another heated blush as Nick curled his arms around them and ran his muzzle over the top of her head rumbling after he saw the small frown she was wearing. The fox chortled again as her stomach growled and her ears exploded as she shook her head. He sat her down leaving and returning shortly with the bag that they had brought, along with the shirt he had picked clean. Nick turned as she put it back on when he saw her trying to cover herself with it again and went through the bag quickly before he passed it over to make sure there weren't any surprise visitors that had snuck in and would upset her again…..

"Damn," Jack spat as Wolford held up an empty case he was examining. "Can you tell what was in it?" Juno asked as his brothers peeked over the edge of the box. Amber shook her head as Jack sighed looking at the indentations left in the foam as Wolford and Snarlov both bit their tongues. "How far ahead of us are they?"

Wolford and Snarlov both curled their lips "Hard to tell now, at least a few hours. The rain killed a lot of the scent."

Wolford looked around as he shook his head "Not that we really need it, even though some of the fur is still here and there all we have to do is follow the claw marks on every tree she scratched chasing him anyway."

Amber chewed her lip as Jack looked into the case again and then to the direction they were traveling, "What was in the box?"

Jack was barely mumbling to himself "What the hell did you get yourself into Piberius?" He stepped past the group again still clutching his ribs, ignoring the doe and question. Milo tried to keep pace behind him in case he stumbled. As Jack tried to keep a distance between himself and the other rabbits Wolford and Snarlov were both keeping their eyes peeled. Amber and Juno were having a mostly silent conversation hanging back until they glanced at Randal and Steven and twitched their ears, both the grey bucks took on a sinister grin from ear to ear before they disappeared into the trees leaving the little group out of sight…..

Nick had disappeared while Judy and Addie ate. When he returned he was soaking wet and carrying several fish and had stuffed his pockets full of who knows what. Judy blanched as she watched him throw two of the fish in with sheriff Catmull and turned away from both of them as Nick started to gut and eat the one he kept and sheriff Catmull was devouring the others just as quickly. She had to keep reminding herself that it was no different than sushi. It was just- yes it was different! She didn't have a problem watching predators eat, but watching them eat in a way that made the fact that what they were eating had once been alive was a new level she had never experienced.

Everything in Zootopia and Bunny borough was processed and well, you just didn't think about it. Nobody really did, and she knew how stupid it was no sooner than the thought had turned her head. They had to grow chickens and snakes and bugs somewhere. So she swallowed the thought and looked back watching Nick eating the fish he had. It was a little fascinating the way he used his claws to tear the thing open and she nearly flinched as he gut the thing. After watching him slice through it and eat everything she was just as curious as to why he buried what he couldn't eat. Sheriff Catmull on the other paw had eaten nearly everything, bones and all. Addie seemed just as curious about it as Judy when Nick finally stood up and made his way back into the den he had dug. He came out a short time later, pockets empty, and Judy rose a brow as he kept snapping his teeth in an odd pattern she hadn't heard before and stomping and clawing at the ground.

It only took a minute for her to be trying to scoot away from where she was, pulling Addie with her as a small hoard of beetles flew out and she blanched as Nick smirked at her. "I am not going back in there!" The fox kept grinning as he raised his brows and blinked a few times holding out a pawful of flowers she recognized as the Midnicampum holicithias her father planted around the fields to keep bugs away. It didn't stop her from gasping as he shoved a pawful in his mouth and trying to scoot away as he looked at her like she was nuts. Judy sat there staring at him and Nick froze seeing her nose twitching. It was the first time he had seen her do that when she wasn't in pain or disoriented so he stayed put watching until she calmed looking him over before she let her shoulders fall.

They had all heard the stories about those flowers for years. "Weird fox." She muttered as Nick smiled again and walked back to her. "I'm still not going in there again!" As she tried to scoot back with Addie again her little brother was struggling to get free as Nick grabbed her foot and pulled just enough to reach the wound on her leg, licking her again. "NICK- YOu …. I …." Nick caught her head as it fell back keeping it from hitting the ground as her eyes rolled closed. Judy didn't feel anything except a wave of heat that overtook her in a realm of warmth she had never felt as everything turned to a fog that left her feeling like she was floating. She couldn't even wrap her mind around what just happened as Nick picked her up while she tried to cling to his fur.

Nick looked back swishing his tail around Addie and the little buck was giggling as he latched onto the end that had curled around him before he picked up the bag again. He had buried the flowers in the den to keep the bugs out. Addie followed him in watching as he laid Judy down before he sat the bag down and pulled the tree he had picked back up over the entrance again before he curled around Judy and pulled Addie into the embrace. He was examining her leg as she curled into his neck and started purring again. He wasn't a day mammal, but after all the events of the last few days and having her curled into his chest as she kept nudging and purring into his throat while Addie settled between them made doing things during the day worth it. The fox curled around both of them again, nudging Addie with his nose to settle in for the night before he was rumbling and marking Judy as he laid his head down and curled his tail over them. Even if she didn't like being in the den it was the safest place to stay, out of the weather and out of sight where nothing could get to either of the bunnies. He also wouldn't have to worry about the little one wondering off. Nick knew everything would be different tomorrow….

Doug was circling and grinding his teeth in frustration. It was getting dark again and he had kept going in circles for hours. At the same time Jack had noticed an unusual lack of activity behind them and turned finding their little party absent of two young bucks. Where are your brot- AGHGH!" Jack blinked when he found himself in the trees. Wolford and Snarlov both looked up with wide eyes and open maws as they watched Jack get sat on a tree limb wide enough for them to stand. They both looked back seeing Amber and Juno grinning as they tilted their heads. All of them looked back when they heard the snickering of the two younger grey bucks who took a seat in front of Jack as Amber walked under the branch they were on. Jack couldn't say he wasn't surprised. Not a lot of rabbits went around climbing trees and he had just found two who had managed to sneak off and silently move into an ambush and capture him. He gave them both an appraising glance before smirking at the doe on the ground who was tapping her foot as Juno took a stand beside her folding his arms over his chest.

"They knew how to do this without injuring my ribs? Maybe I could give them a job. You should be a tactical advisor, maybe even a commander Ms. Hopps." Jack smirked as he looked down at her.

"Yeah yeah, tell me what was in the box?"

A surge of air shot through the trees and all their ears set as several odd noises and calls went through the trees. "Get me down." Jack whispered as he looked around shaking his head, "Playtimes over. We've got company."


	13. Blinding Bonds

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Coming Together.

Under Earth 13

"They aren't being very discreet are they?" Wolford asked as he looked around. Snarlov curled one side of his lip watching the trees and bushes bouncing and jostling around them as Amber and Juno stepped beside Randal and Steven.

Jack rolled his eyes after being sat back on the ground and shook his head. "We do not have time for this." He stuck two fingers in his mouth beside his teeth and let out a loud whistle and all the movement around them stopped before all the rabbits startled and Milo leaned against a tree when a red rabbit landed in front of Jack from somewhere in the trees. Jack set a deadpan on her as she wiggled her nose and cocked into one hip while her ears stiffened. The buck looked around without moving his head and tipped a brow at her with a slight flip of one of his ears and the doe in front of him tilted her head before she made some kind of odd call and several rabbits seemed to appear from nowhere.

"Jackie boy," she purred as she leaned into his space. "What warrants us being here in your wonderful presence again?"

Jack lowered a brow looking around. "Where is Wizard?"

The doe in front of him sighed before she stuck her nose in the air "Around, if that's all you wanted why did you call the rest of us? I thought you might enjoy seeing us all again. It's not like you to call all of us together like this." Jack scowled at her as Amber Randal and Steven all studied the rabbits.

Wolford and Snarlov were entranced in their attire and noting the tactical gear. They both glanced at each other keeping their mouths closed but fighting not to ask a million questions. Much of what the little team was wearing was military grade gear and several items were unavailable even to those who were among the highest ranks. Several carried outlawed items that the government would have you tossed in jail for and never heard from again just for a having parts of the weapons they were carrying. Live ammo guns, tranq pistols that held darts that had immediate acting sedatives that worked faster than any police issued guns. Tasers that would effectively take down rhinos and elephants, switch blade knives and an array of items that had both of them curiously studying to figure out what they were. The fact that these items had been retrofitted to be useful and manageable by such a small species and still work on the larger had them both wondering exactly who they were looking at.

Amber and her brothers were just as curious. Juno was more fascinated with their clothing. The fabric seemed to shift into different colors and reflect everything around them. It was form fitting under pieces of heavier parts that were secured with velcro that reminded him a little of Judy's vest from the police uniform she had been issued. Some of the rabbits had head gear on that covered their ears and looked as if they may be capable of magnifying sound with the way the dark fabric seemed to curl around their ears and set into the deep hollows meant for hearing. Their feet were covered in some kind of fabric similar to the Kevlar looking vest leaving toes and claws exposed, but the material looked soft and bent with each movement instead of being rigid. Straps and buckles secured many of the odd looking pieces they were carrying as the doe in front of Jack frowned and shook her head as he kept a dead expectant face on her. She waved a paw in front of her face and every rabbit there stuck their noses in the air and let out a loud bellowing howl that had Wolford and Snarlov clamping paws over their muzzle fighting every instinct and urge not to join in the fray.

That temptation ebbed away and turned into snarls as several wolves who were followed by a few other species of predators came through the forest or landed somewhere from above hidden in the trees. All of it was ignored as guns were pulled and pointed at the snarling cops who were now in a standoff with the largest wolf who had a darker tint to his fur than Wolford. Jack raised a paw and they all dropped their weapons re-holstering them as the wolves continued baring their teeth and growling at each other. "TRAITOR!" Wolford screamed.

"DESERTER!" Snarlov growled as all their fur and hackles rose. The darker furred wolf dipped his ears back snarling as he held his head high glaring at the pair while all their chests heaved in anger. Snarling, rigid tails, raised shoulders and bared teeth had the Hopps rabbits cringing as Jack looked to the red furred rabbit doe.

"Get the civs out, there's some family business that needs to be taken care of before we can get to brass tacks. Set up their gear for the night, it's nearly dark and they aren't trained to move in it."

The red doe tipped her head before the other rabbits moved with her, ushering the Hopps away from the angry predators. A cheetah, some kind of badger and another wolf followed leaving Jack with the three snarling canines. Milo followed behind them leaving the sight after Jack had shook his head and motioned the same direction they had left in. "Make this quick Oz. We don't have time for it." The dark furred wolf looked at Jack with a heavy frown before the buck turned and left to rejoin the little group that his team had led away. They had found an acceptable place for the night and Juno watched dumbfounded as they set the tent up and had a fire going in less time than it had taken them to simply unpack the thing the first time they set it up.

Jack settled on the ground with Milo not far from him as several rabbits joined them. The Hopps kept ticking their eyes back and forth between the silent group when Wolford and Snarlov returned. The darker furred wolf took a seat next to a female wolf as a badger and cheetah stood leaned against trees keeping their eyes ticking around the woods surrounding them. Several of the others had slipped off into the woods and were unseen. The wolves were still scowling at each other as Jack shook his head. "Did you get that squashed enough to work together Oz?"

The darker furred wolf scowled as Wolford and Snarlov dipped their ears back and held their lips tight above their teeth. "Yeah, just had to remind them who I was."

"Was being the operative word," Wolford snarled as his ears tipped back farther.

"Stow it Wolfy. We've got bigger issues to deal with right now." Oz said as he shook his head.

"How the hell is you leaving the pack and taking several members of it with you not an issue?! You were supposed to be the next Alpha! You're his son for God's sake! You betrayed him, betrayed all of us!" Snarlov growled as he clinched his fists.

"I figured you'd be happy about it, you both get the chance to be the Alpha and one of you is going to be the beta. You tell them everything?" Oz asked as he kept his eyes on the two wolves.

Jack looked off scratching his cheek as he fought not to roll his eyes and shook his head. "Not with you, no. The rest I did tell them they didn't believe."

"So what's the sitch?" the she wolf next to him asked.

"First things first, introductions." Jack stated. At the word the rabbits who were settled at the outer rim of the little circle they created moved in along with the cheetah, and badger. "That is officer Wolford and that is officer Snarlov. This is Amber, Juno, Randal and Steven Hopps. They are the siblings of Judy and Addie Hopps, part of the reason you are here. Amber, Juno, Randal and Steven. The two red does there," Jack pointed to two red furred rabbits "Are Opie and Danny. The gray buck behind them is Alfonzo; the brown two toned rabbits over there are J.J and Schneider."

"Sup?" They all said in sync and Amber tilted her head as Juno curled his lip.

"You're girls? Why do you have boy's names?" Juno asked the two red furred does.

Danny leaned into her knees with her paws and grinned from ear to ear as Jack deadpanned her. "Oh Jackie boy, have you not told them about your name yet?" The pin striped buck was drumming his fingers on the ground as he chewed the side of his cheek and his eye twitched as she stood up giggling. "There aren't a lot of red furred rabbits around; we have a tendency to stick out anyway so the names weren't that big a deal. After the first three hundred of us Mom ran out of ideas for names, so she let our Dad pick them."

"First three hundred?" Wolford blanched as Jack sighed.

Snarlov was ticking his eyes between them as the Hopps siblings chuckled. "How many are there in your family?"

"437 kits, including Jackie boy." Alfonzo said with a snide glance and threw his paws out. "Aint that right you sly dog you?" Jack groaned/growled as the Hopps and wolf officers kept ticking their eyes between them.

"You're all related?" Juno asked snickering.

"We don't all share these baby blues for nothing. Yeah, Dad got inventive- or something. All of us were named after some TV sitcom character he liked. Danny and Opie were red furred so they got named after Opie and Danny from The Andy Griffith show and the Partridge family. J.J. was named after a character on Good Times, Schneider was named after a character on One Day at a Time and Alfonzo here, was named after the Fonz on Happy Days."

"Heeey," Alfonzo said and all the rabbits snickered.

Jack was rubbing his eyes with a finger and thumb as Opie and Danny leaned over grinning. He opened his eyes shaking his head as they giggled. "Jackie boy was named after one of Dads favorite characters. Too bad he doesn't have a sense of humor about it like the rest of us." Opie cooed.

"Do you two ever stop talking?" Jack growled as he curled his lip and rubbed his temple.

"Nope," they both replied and popped the last letter.

Juno nudged Amber ticking his head at Randal and Steven. The two gray bucks were glued to the does. As soon as they saw they were being watched and had been noticed they both sat up straighter and looked around at all the other mammals while Amber and Juno both snickered. "Jackie boy was named after Jack Tripper from Three's Company. He was a goof ball and a bit of a….." Jack narrowed his eyes shaking his head as his brothers and sisters started laughing. "Well, he was entertaining anyway. And as much as Jackie hates the story and anyone knowing about his name, he took after our Dad more than he likes to admit, even if he doesn't have much of a sense of humor. That's Ozbourne by the way and his mate Dee, the cheetah's name is Charles and the badger is Travis. Jackie calls them Wizard; you won't meet anyone else here because they are what Jackie refers to as Static. They don't want anyone knowing they are here, and they aren't interested in making friends. We are the inner circle and central command. They take orders and are loyal. That's all there is to it." Danny touted as she scrunched her nose.

"Why do you call them Wizard?" Juno asked as he tipped a brow, looking at the two wolves, the badger and cheetah before glancing at Jack who was flaring as he ticked his eyes between them.

"Oz is a specialist in species body language, medical biology and cultural patterns. He also deals with communications and negotiations. Dee is a programmer/hacker and they are both tactical advisors, she handles all our equipment and gear in the realm of technology. J.J. deals with ammunition and artillery. Schneider is a Jack of all trades."

"I am definitely not a Jack, Jack." Schneider shot making the team laugh as Jack rolled his eyes.

"Anyway, you probably won't see them much because they manage Static and communications. Travis is pretty much our battering ram and brute strength, and Charles is our scout, He's in charge of finding our direction. He also goes ahead of us and checks things out." The cheetah shrugged and the badger grinned and bounced his brow as Jack shifted holding his ribs when he stood.

"Jack are you hurt?" J.J. asked as the pin striped buck cringed.

"I'll live. Oz, first course." The dark furred wolf reached into his pocket pulling out a pack of cigarettes and Amber shot from her seated position growling.

"IF YOU SMOKE THAT I WILL TWIST YOUR TAIL OFF MR. SAVAGE!"

Jacks team all glanced at her and back watching his shoulders fall as he sighed "Second course Oz."

The wolf put the pack away and tipped a brow as Jack took the flask he had and threw it back before he started heading to the tent. "Jackie?" Danny asked as they all stared at him.

Jack turned, letting the weariness show as he shook his head. "Piberius is out here with the missing Hopps doe and kit and the sheriff of Bunny borough. He's been seen and they are coming. Milo, get them briefed. Hopps, Wolford and Snarlov, follow me please." The Team sat around the fire as Milo took a seat closer to the group and motioned for them to gather closer.

"Gods," Oz said as he ran a paw over his face. "Why would he leave the perimeter confines?"

"You know who he is?" Juno asked as Wolford and Snarlov curled their brows.

"Yeah well everybody seems to know a whole lot about everything except what is going on in Zootopia." Wolford scowled as he looked around at the agents and team.

Jack sighed as he turned back around seeing the wolves in his team perk their ears. "Begging you pardon Officer Wolford, but the ZIA or Zotropia International Affairs of Animalia is an agency that monitors things on a global level. Zootopia is a big city, but it's unique in its placement. It's surrounded by deserts on three sides with a few farming communities a few hours off that are right on the borders of the Hycinthian Mountains. There is no way to get through, over or around those mountains and the deserts that surround the city are often forgotten about due to the train system and planes accompanied with the size of the city and it's unique districts. We monitor the world, and frankly-Zotropia is a big Ass world."

"No Savage. You said this was you're team. Not ZIA. What does that and this have to do with anything?" Snarlov stood and threw his arms out.

"Red Net." Milo shot and Jack twisted his paws into fists. The cat cringed as Jack nearly vibrated out of his fur.

"WHAT?" Dee asked as she shot from the ground.

"Milo, I swear if you don't put a leash on that thing I'm going to rip it out of your mouth!" Jack hissed shaking his head. "Well now that you let that cat out of the bag you might as well explain it."

"Jack," Dee said looking at Milo who had cinched his shoulders and cheeks together in a cringe before she glanced at the Hopps and officers. The buck just nodded his head as she looked between everyone around the fire again. "A red net is a communications blocker on a scale that is nearly unprecedented. For a city the size of Zootopia it would cost a massive amount of money and resources, not to mention programmers and monitors. It will grab any phone line text, outgoing computer communication or electronic message that has certain words in it and change the messages to something simple and mundane. It can also scramble broadcasts and overwrite or block them with previously recorded messages through air waves and radio signals or cell towers. There is a crew that monitors news reports and papers in the ZIA for unusual activity that would travel through word of mouth or news programs and papers, but if we haven't heard anything through the grapevine or chatter reports that hasn't been flagged as suspicious for us to look into there is a much larger problem than that."

Wolford and Snarlov sighed and let their heads dip back as the Hopps looked between everyone. "You've got someone burying the information in the agency. A leak or a plug that's keeping it from getting through. And that along with the savage mammals, you think it's connected?"

Jack lifted a brow at Wolford, "I have to assume it is."

"What s a savage mammal?" Schneider asked as they all looked back to Wolford and Snarlov.

Jack looked around at the group motioning between the two wolf officers and Hopps. "Get details on everything from them, Mother can explain this to you," Jack said as he motioned to himself and Amber. "And all of you explain what you saw happen with Piberius."

Amber was still standing thumping her foot in aggravation as Jack disappeared into the tent. "Don't let him have any of those things in your pocket Mr. Oz."

The darker furred wolf lifted a brow looking at his mate before he returned his gaze to the Amber eyed doe. "Why tell me? He's listening to you about it already. And I wouldn't worry about it too much. Jack doesn't smoke." When Amber curled her lip and gave him an incredulous glare Oz tipped a shoulder and Jacks team was chuckling. "Mother hu? He only smokes or drinks when he's really worried. Twice in the last ten years I've been with his crew. So, show and tell time. Explain everything that's been happening….."

Zootopia

"ELECTIONS ARE IN A WEEK!" Bellwether screamed as Dillon shrank away from her.

"Well what do you expect me to do? I've been trying to tell you for several days and you were too busy to see me. You wouldn't listen! It's not my fault!"

"It's never your fault! You didn't get the site prepped! I should have known better than to trust you with this. I'll rearrange things myself. I already have the election in the bag and I can get rid of the rest of the predators here after I am the elected official. Then I can fix the mess you made when you're brother gets back you idiot. Just get out!" Dawn rubbed her temples before shoving him out the door and shaking her head as she picked up her phone.

"I'm not an idiot," Dillon grumbled as he stalked away from her office. "You want them gone, I'll get them all gone….."

Hopps farm

Bonnie had just settled the younger kits in for bed before she was on her way back to the kitchen. The older kits and Stu would often sit in there in the evenings talking and spending time together hashing out details and problems on different areas of the farm or planning and it had become a way to keep bonds close between the family. After sitting around discussing planting and marketing, the eldest of the group moved into the living room to relax before turning in for the night. Bonnie was sitting with Stu after getting Pappy settled for the evening and Ruby was plopped on the couch with some of her older brothers and sisters. The dark furred doe furrowed her brow when someone knocked on the door, both Bonnie and Stu glancing at each other and the clock wondering who would be coming without letting them know or arriving later in the evening.

"Maybe they got them back!" Ruby jumped from the couch and rushed the door. The doe curled her brow in confusion after it was opened and a spotted cat stood at the door. "Professor Aldrigsteit?"

The doe squeaked when she was shoved back through the door, a dozen mammals of various species rushed into the room and Bonnie and Stu along with their eldest children who were still up shot from their seats watching in horror as Ruby was snatched in his clutches with a gun stuck under her chin. "Where. Is. The. Fox?...…"

Oz chuckled as he looked between the Hopps "You gave Piberius a 'Nick Name'? Interesting. So, he changed when this savage cat showed up?"

"Yes, but it wasn't just changing, he really was different." Juno responded. Jacks team all leaned forward listening as Juno ran a paw over his ears. "His fur changed colors and got longer, his muscles got bigger, his eyes, claws the way he smelled, everything. Even the noises he was making didn't sound the same. Jack said he had never heard him do it before either."

Snarlov agreed as Jack rejoined the group, all of them waiting for the buck to jump in as he sat down. "He was protecting the Hopps. Sounded more like a machine than a mammal. Smelled ten times stronger than he usually does. His eyes changed after the second time he heard the cat. I think it was some kind of instinct."

Dee looked at her mate and saw him furrowing his brow "We've seen most of his instincts. That sounds more like a trigger for something we haven't. Something he heard or smelled set it off. How far ahead of us is he?" he asked looking at Wolford and Snarlov.

"We don't really know." Wolford replied looking between Snarlov and Oz. We should have caught up to them by now."

"Pfft," Charles scoffed as they all looked at him and Oz rubbed his temple shaking his head. "That fox has a running speed higher than any cheetah I've ever met when he was just goofing around. If him and that cat were as amped up as you say they were there's no telling how far ahead of us they are or how fast they were moving….."

Bonnie sat at the table with Stu holding her, both of them on the brink of emotional breakdown after watching another one of their children being taken from their home under the threat of losing her if they contacted anyone about what was going on. Neither of them had a choice in compliance or telling their older kits to make up a story for the others on her whereabouts as they both fought to keep the rest of their family and each other from falling apart….


	14. Get it in Gear.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Primal Goal.

Under Earth 14

Jacks team

Jack stood sighing as he looked around again. "Make sure you tell any extra Static the rules of encounter with Piberius. I have no idea what is going on with the sheriff. I don't know what state of mind he's going to be in but I do know he's on the defense and it won't take much to put him on the other side if he feels threatened or feels like Ms. Hopps is."

"Hopps is? What's the deal with that?" Oz asked as his mate quirked a brow. Jack ran a paw over his ears and shook his head. "Let's just say he's taken a fancy to her." Jack walked away, advising everyone to get some sleep and leaving the group alone around the fire as his team looked back at the Hopps rabbits. Amber went on to explain everything that hadn't been covered on the Hopps farm and left the group with Wolford and Snarlov as Jacks team all looked at each other blindsided.

"Well she is a rabbit." Oz said as he shrugged. Dee shook her head as she grabbed a sleeping bag and rolled it out next to the fire. "Whatever the case is, like Jack said we can get it sorted out when we catch up to them. We can't move with all these civilians at night. Charles can't even scout for him because if he spots him first, and he will, he'll go deeper and we'll lose him for sure. We have to get to him before they do…."

Nick Judy and Addie, Sheriff Catmull and Doug

Judy woke with a start, scrambling around the soft earth under her paws and caught her breath not finding any bugs or her brother and a fox with her. She found the light barely shining in; part of the entrance covered but left open enough for her to get through as she crawled through the opening. The doe stopped at the entrance after getting to her knees and curled her brow at the odd sensation tingling through her leg. It was itchy and the skin felt tight as she turned and leaned against the ground pulling it in to a position she could look it over. Her eyes went wide and she shook her head as she ran a finger over the wound. There was no scab, the flesh had sealed over it and was tight like it had been closed too well and itched. It was bright pink that bordered on red and no matter how she thought she couldn't figure out how it could have healed so quickly. The way it looked was almost as if the scab that should have formed had come and gone already and it was at the point of healing when scar tissue would form. The only thing she could think of that had happened was Nick eating the flowers right before he had licked her and almost passing out…..

Doug had had enough the night before and took out the flash light on his phone deciding this was the last evening he would be out in the woods. He had circled a large area for hours and was grumbling as it just kept going the same directions. Until he heard something that set him on a certain path that led right to what he was looking for and climbed a tree as he watched the fox seem to be on some kind of tirade. The doe with a small kit in her arms seemed to be shrinking away from him as a sinister grin crawled across Doug's face while he took up position on a lower tree branch….

She looked around spotting the fox and her brother goofing around not far from where she was and took a step hissing at the light throb that was still in her leg. She stopped reaching back into the den Nick had dug and pulled out the bag, knowing her brother would be hungry. It was barley dawn and they usually ate right after sunup as she started making her way to them. A slight limp was an annoyance but better than not being able to walk at all, the fox flicked his ears at hearing her but kept his eyes on the small buck who was hopping around the grass in front of him. She looked over the edge seeing Stacy soundly sleeping before she dug through the bag and pulled out the things she needed to start a fire, pulling a bunch of sticks around a bundle starter kit her sister had put in the bag. Nick leaned his head up watching her, grinning as she got it going almost like he was impressed as her brother bounced into her lap. She had taken out a collapsible pan and expanded it, filling it with bottled water to boil some oatmeal when the fox twisted his brow sniffing at it and examining it before he looked like he was shaking his head and disappeared. He's never seen a metal pan before?

"Nick don't!"

When he had come back and tossed a pawful of flowers in the water she had tried to stop him and nearly flinched as he leaned over sniffing it again when he growled. She jerked back as he picked it up and threw it away from the fire, almost stomping around as his fur bristled while he seemed to be shouting in odd clicking and chucking patterns that alternated with growls and light rumbles that resembled muffled roars while throwing his arms around angrily at the pot he had thrown….

Doug loaded his rifle with a blue pellet staying downwind as he watched the fox trying not to snicker. "Hold still for just a second. You can take care of the bunnies and all I have to do is wait you out until you are too stupid to think and run around chasing everything that makes a noise…." Click-thwap.

Nick stopped stomping when he caught Judy shrinking and dipped his head in regret while she watched him settle down. Just as the two started to smile at each other the fox flew forward like someone had hit him in the back and rolled over growling. She watched him run a paw over his back and pull up a blue substance on his fingers after getting to his knees, flinching when he stuck it on his tongue as his eyes seemed to flicker between several different colors. The wind shifted and Nick roared loud enough that Judy's ears were ringing before he was gone. She didn't even have time to scream his name before he was in a tree and she watched him snatch a white ram who was scrambling with a rifle after the one he had been holding had fallen to the ground with wide eyes. Nick dropped him to the ground as he fell with him plucking the gun he was holding from his paw and bending the steel like it was a piece of foam as he roared again in his face. She had half a mind to protest as the fox picked him up by the throat but was almost frozen as Addie kept shaking his head humming the words bad bad bad in her lap.

Nick lifted him off the ground carrying him by the throat to the pit where sheriff Catmull still seemed to be sleeping. The ram was clutching at the fox's arms as he lifted him over the little ravine with bared teeth that were hissing as his tail slashed the air making whipping noises behind him as he growled and let go. Dug fell into the pit, scrambling away after tumbling down the side through huffed breaths as Nick leaned over the side dipping his head as he continued to grind his teeth and started clicking before he was snapping his jaw in a repeating pattern. "What are you!?"

Jacks team Wolford Snarlov, Hopps rabbits

Jacks team had just gotten everything packed up as the sound of a helicopter caught his ears. His head jerked the other direction when he heard a roar and every mammal there had their ears on end with wide eyes as the buck shouted "MOVE! There is no way they didn't hear that! Schneider- civilian cover. Charles head count, J.J what are we dealing with?"

The cheetah crawled into a tree adjusting an ear piece as he shook his head. "Incoming, two birds, one just dropped a haul, we've got grounders on bikes and land rovers, I can barely see them but they'll be on us in ten. Looks like sixty plus."

"J.J?" Jack asked with a scowl as Schneider moved several of the other static rabbits around the Hopps and the two wolf cops.

Dee let a paw down as J.J jumped and tossed him to the cat, the Hopps all blinking when the cat plucked him from the air like a Frisbee and stuck him on his shoulder to look around through a pair of binoculars. "Savatical protocol Jack. They aint foolin' around."

"Shit. Give the wolves tranq guns. You two," Jack barked at Wolford and Snarlov, "keep them safe and out of the way. We can't afford to lose anyone to these guys." Schneider handed them both guns and left them with the little group of guards before darting into the trees, Dee and Oz following behind them leaving the gear scattered on the ground as the sounds of the bikes and motors started humming through the air. The red furred does and Alfonzo scrambled up trees leaving Randal and Steven gaping before they grinned at each other as they were all pushed behind trees and other rabbits trying to shield them from the oncoming traffic and assault. The few wolves that were with the group had disappeared into the brush when cat calls, hoots and hollers started ringing in everyone's ears while Jack ground his teeth and ducked beside another group of rabbits.

"We got a problem Jack!" J.J. said as he shook his head and pointed to the chopper that was hovering over the trees. Another flew by and the spotted cat in the open sided bird had a malicious grin on his face as Jack stepped out from cover when J.J. pointed up. Milo tilted his head as Jack came into the clearing and looked up at the hovering helicopter. The bucks fists clinched and face contorted into what the cat could only describe as unadulterated fury as who he had recognized as professor Aldrigsteit smiled from ear to ear as he seemed to keep a paw firmly clasped around Ruby's neck. The doe looked like she might breathe herself to death if she tried to keep huffing like she was.

"Jarvis." Jack spat as Milo's eyes went wide. He wasn't a field agent and had never laid eyes on the notorious feline who ran the Presalvation group Jacks team had been fighting with in Animalia for years. No one had ever managed to get a picture of the cat, and Jack, with a very few of his team were the only ones who had ever laid eyes on the guy. He didn't work for the Preservation Society, he worked for another group that constantly tried to undermine the truth and Milo cringed as Jack growled when the bird shot off and they were suddenly surrounded by blazing overland vehicles throwing calls and dirt everywhere. It was just enough of a distraction to let the group be surrounded as Jack curled his lip and everything around them exploded.

"ALFONZO-STATIC SCATTER! TRAVIS AND CHARLES, GET TO PIBERIUS BEFORE THEY DO EVEN IF HE SEES YOU!" The cheetah jumped down, a badger scrambling onto his back as he shoved off the ground and started scrambling through the blockade that had surrounded them, several wolves and rabbits joining in the skirmish as they openly started jumping and attacking any mammal on a machine they could reach after the gray buck in a tree somewhere let out a long whistle to get the two a clear path to the direction they had heard the fox roar from….

Nick Judy and Addie, Sheriff Catmull and Doug

Judy had picked up the bag and Addie and limped to the side of the ravine as Nick roared, leaning in curling here brow at the ram who had just tried to shoot him with two different guns as Nick roared again.

"What are you?!" the ram screamed as he scrambled away from the teeth and lowered brow of the fox glowering at him from above. Nicks ears flipped up and eyes shot open as Judy turned shaking her head. Why he had twisted where he stood had her ticking her ears and she finally caught the sound of whirring through the air, she wasn't sure she understood how he had heard the machines before she did. As they came into view the fox panicked as several animals dropped from them as they lowered. Horse, sheep, a few weasels and ungulates, but the majority of the animals dropping from either of the larger machines designed to house and carry animals as large as a dozen elephants were different species of felines. Nick ran around the little ravine grabbing Judy and tossing her over his shoulder as he looked back wide eyed at what he could only imagine as demons kicking up the ground on some kind of circular monsters that moved and carried other monsters on them. Whatever he had seen in the air was definitely not a bird.

"Nick wait! They might be here to hel… RUN!" Judy screamed as she caught sight of several vehicles rushing to them, all of whom looked like something from the movie Mad Maximus. Worn and dirty clothes, armory that didn't fit correctly and weapons she didn't need to have ever seen before to know what they were used for. She hadn't needed to say it anyway because she had to grip Addie in her arm as Nick shot to the ground on all fours running like the wind away from all the sights, scents and sounds that were currently speeding to them like hell on wheels. She tried to cling to his fur in an attempt to keep from falling off his back with Addie curled around her neck. Nick darted left and right bouncing off trees when motorcycles and four wheeled terrain vehicles started racing around them and the mammals riding them were hollering and barking like they were trying to corral a lizard in a rodeo ring.

Nick was frantic. He knew where he was but had been forced on several attempts to dart in another direction trying to hold Judy with one paw as the other three turned him on a dime barely keeping him from barreling into something that made noises he had never heard and moved unnaturally. As much as he would love to lash out and strike every demon that was flying around them he had two things in his arm and over his back that kept him moving before he darted into the trees and was moving through the branches searching for something he knew would keep them both safe. He wasn't thinking about anything but hiding them as he found the height of the tree he had been searching for and leaned in placing an almost hysterical Judy inside the hollow section higher off the ground. He knew his own strength, but he also knew, he was outnumbered and didn't understand what those things were around the ground still searching for them.

"Nick! NO, you can't leave us in a tree like this! We don't belong off the ground like this and they ar-" Judy was in tears as Addie and Nick were making chicking and clicking noises at each other, the fox leaned into the dark space cupping her cheek and did the last thing she expected as her brother wrapped around her chest in a ball and buried his face into her shirt. Nick looked pensive and almost regretful for a moment before his ears tipped hearing the sounds growing closer again. He leaned in quickly stealing her breath in a kiss and Judy's head fell into his palm as the feeling of being tipsy almost took her over. Drowsy eyes looked to see him looking off as he tensed and made several low noises that Addie seemed to return before he was gone…..

Professor Aldrigsteit/Jarvis, Ruby etc

"Stay on my side, and keep her at paws length," Jarvis almost purred as he hopped down from the chopper he was in and watched as a badger strong armed the doe as he jumped beside him. The cat twirled his paw in the air with a one sided grin and the bird took off before he looked off and found the sight of several vehicles circling when one of the four wheeled monstrosities stopped in front of him.

The horse that was driving lifted up the goggles on his face grinning as he revved the gas in his paw. "We got it cornered."

Jarvis' smile dropped into a scowl and he shook his head. "Just the fox? Where is the rabbit?" When the horse dipped his head the cat curled his claws. "FIND HER. Half of you have no idea what that thing can do. I have more than enough intel from others to know what it can and will do. It's attached to her if it left her somewhere letting you chase it somewhere else and I. Want. It. Alive."….

Doug and Duke Weaselton/sheriff Catmull

Doug cowered as several engines revved by, having gone unnoticed by the mammals that were driving them. The ram stood up shakily ticking his eyes between the edge of the ravine he was in and the cat that looked like it might be dead. A few cautious steps towards her and he caught her chest rising and falling slowly, but he twisted his brow when none of the sounds around them seemed to be drawing her from her state. Maybe she is dying. She's been savage for a few days, hasn't eaten anything or drank anything and I have no idea how long she has been in this hole…. Whatever the case was, Doug knew if she woke up he was in trouble and all the commotion from above gave him just as much concern as he tip toed to her. She still had her tranq gun on her. Joy. Finally a little good luck, at least he wouldn't have to worry about being completely unarmed. She didn't move but he still nearly jumped when he kicked her paw.

Doug still had the night howler pellets in the box in his pocket, but those were useless under the circumstances. Not to mention possibly deadly if he was stupid enough to use them. He removed the gun from her belt, watching every movement she made and keeping himself as quiet and slow as he could before he smiled wickedly as he stepped away with it in his paw. Now he just needed to figure out how to get out of this damn ravine. Doug looked around smirking seeing all the roots that had grown out from the trees. The Stupid savage cat hadn't been smart enough to use them to climb out. He started grabbing them and hauling himself up. The ram froze and went wide eyed as he heard a low growl and turned blinking to see the cougar lift herself up cupping her head in both paw as she let out a low growl.

Doug froze as he let go of one branches and grabbed the gun, the cat roared clutching her head and he sent one shot watching as she jerked when it hit her and fell into the ground again. He shoved the gun under his shirt and started climbing again. All he wanted to do was get away from her as he rushed his movements and got to the top, hauling himself out by clutching large clumps of grass. The ram rolled over huffing and startled as a pair of beady brown eyes landed on him. "What you doin' out here sheep? This aint exactly the kind of place where we's gonna be real friendly. As a matter of fact, we might be real unfriendly cause you's just got in the way. You's better have a real good reason for being out here in all this." The weasel chuckled as several other mammals surrounded him, all snickering at the wide eyed ram in front of them. And you's better have something that'll pique my interest if ya want to keep all that pretty wool and your skin intact for bein' here."

Doug swallowed as he sat up and lifted a brow. This little group was nothing more than a band of hired street thugs and a sinister grin crawled up his cheeks as he nodded. "How much money do you want, because I can get it if you're willing to trade sides and turn a blind eye?"

"Now you're talking somethin' we can't refuse Buddy"…..

Judy/ Addie- Professor Aldrigsteit / Ruby

Addie scrambled to Judy's back after Nick had left. The scratching on the trees sent him into hiding as he crawled into the bag that everything had spilled out of when they were running. "I got her! Somethin's wrong with her Jarvis." The spotted cat narrowed his eyes as he jumped off the machine leaving the horse who was driving, a badger still sitting there holding Ruby as her ears tipped when the larger cat jumped from the tree. She was looking around trying to see anything when the large mammal yanked her back to his chest growling. The black furred doe cringed as Judy laid almost limp in the large tigers arms, her eyes half open as she tried to look around. Ruby saw Addie poke his nose out of the bag and shook her head. The little buck ducked back inside under the tigers arm as Jarvis started laughing and ran a finger along the scar over her leg.

"Leave the other rabbit, we don't need her anymore."…

Jacks team, Wolford Snarlov, Hopps rabbits, Flash

Jack cringed as he was slammed into a tree, wishing he had enough time to brace or grab his aching ribs before he lunged into another swing against the caribou who was trying to stomp him into the ground. The pin striped buck ground his teeth and held his breath as he jumped from another punch and braced against the tree with one paw as he shot his feet into the ungulates chest. The other male was thrown back with the force and Jack landed half stunned next to the tree as he clutched his ribs from the sting of landing on his side. A groan left him as he looked up and found Opie and Danny taking the lead after him, both fending off several of the others as several of his team were wrestling and grappling in the trees above them. "FLASH!" Jack ground out after looking up as he tried to sit straight. The Hopps rabbits turned stunned at the fighting going on around them while Wolford and Snarlov kept shooting and picking off individuals getting any closer and froze seeing the slow moving mammal no one had been paying any attention to or even been introduced to.

J.J was giggling as he started throwing things to the sloth that left them landing not far from where he could reach them. "DUCK AND COVER!" Every static rabbit and wolf that was surrounding the area ran into the trees and under bushes leaving the ones who had been fighting them baffled at the retreat before J.J screamed again. "BLINDFOLDS!"

"Oh shit," Wolford barked as him and Snarlov turned and had the Hopps on the ground covering them all as a blinding flash of light exploded sending every other mammal there into a screaming frenzy after the sloth had thrown something into the air and it exploded into a million directions. Those who had been on vehicles crashed or slid clutching their faces as they were thrown or slid with them when they fell. Flashes of light so bright they blinded every living creature within viewing distance had them all falling to the ground screaming and digging at their eyes as they writhed against pain. Jack stood up cringing as Opie and Danny crawled out and helped him back to his feet. The buck looked around tipping his head at Alfonzo and J.J. The two starting to direct the static and corralling their recently acquired prisoners while Schneider started picking up and collecting all their weapons and handing them off to Oz and Dee.

The buck shook his head smirking as he looked up into the tree at the sloth. "Took you long enough to get here."

Flash slowly raised his head and brows grinning, "Better.…late….than….never."

The Hopps rabbits were all rubbing their eyes as they sat up blinking "How did he do that?" Juno asked as he tried to clear his vision again. He hadn't caught the brunt of it being buried under fur, but it was still enough for him and his brothers and sister to be seeing spots. Alfonzo, Opie, Danny, Dee, Oz and Schneider all looked at the grinning sloth shaking their heads.

"He won't tell us how he does that. Says it's his trademark. Works every time." J.J. snickered as the sloth slowly shrugged. "I still haven't figured it out."

"All right, you all get the gist. Alfonzo, have section A static take the Hopps home. We need to move a lot faster and can't do it with them here." Amber started shaking her head in protest and Jack stuck a paw in the air. "You're parent's need you Mother, they have Ruby too and I need to get to Piberius and your brother and sisters quickly. Oz can take care of me from here on. You'll slow us down." Juno stuck a paw on her shoulder and Amber deflated as she nodded. Randal and Steven glanced at each other curling their lips as they sighed. Jack watched them leaving with several of the rabbits leading them back through the woods before he turned. "Wolford and Snarlov, I might need you two because we are losing so many of the Static team with this clean up. You have a problem staying on board?" Both wolves raised their brows in shock and absently shook their heads.

"Great." Jack slapped his paws together and both wolves tipped their brows looking between several members of his team who were smirking at the striped rabbit as Flash slid down from the tree he was in. "Alfonzo, get them into some gear and show them some basics. Schneider grab some of these downed vehicles and get them up and ready. Leave these guys with section B, well take Static C with us and move out. They are ahead of us and hopefully Charles and Travis can find them and we can catch up fast." Jack leaned into the tree clutching his ribs and grinding his jaw as he looked off in the direction he knew the others had chased the fox in after turning from his group as they surrounded the two wolf cops. After a few minutes of everything settling he could hear the fox roaring in the distance along with several motors revving in what he could only imagine what was being used to taunt the fox. "Don't let them catch you Piberius….."


	15. True Savages.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Questionable outcomes.

Under Earth 15

Jack shook his head as he looked around watching the mammals in his crew gather vehicles equipment and what would be considered prisoners of war. Another sweep had him furrowing his brow when he finally realized what was off. "Alfonzo? Where's Milo?" Jacks brother was quick to have a few members of static looking at him and Dee started doing a sweep of the surrounding area. When the wolf returned holding the patent black tie Milo made a signature of wearing the buck groaned and shook his head.

"It was hanging in a tree just outside the blast radius. Looks like they wanted you to get the message Jack." Alfonzo said as he held it out.

"Yea, I think I got it." Jack spat as he clutched his ribs and scowled, "I never should have brought him. He just isn't cut out for this kind of work and now if something happens to him I'l-"

"Knock it off Jack. We can sing our shoulda coulda woulda's later, right now we have vehicles ready. Charles and Travis just sent coordinates. Static is taking care of the prisoners and cleaning up the camp site, let's go." Dee barked and Jack looked to see his red furred sisters cocking their hips as his brothers all tilted their heads giving him a nod.

"We'll get him back Jack," Schneider smirked as he hefted one leg over a four wheeler and motioned for him to climb on.

"Static, split to half members and do a sweep of a one mile perimeter and catch any stragglers." Jack yelled and watched as several of the mammals in his crew nodded and took off into the forest. Several vehicles varying in size took of sending waves of gas filled dust flying in the direction Travis and Charles had told them to come in.….

The fox was turning in circles and snarling at the vehicles that kept speeding around him. Nick had already taken out a dozen mammals and whatever it was they were riding on. What they were he still wasn't sure of but had figured out after removing a rider that they had no minds of their own and weren't living beings that had free will because even if they kept running without a rider they had no control over their own motions without one. While Nick was considerably stronger than many of the mammals who were taunting him as they seemed to switch back and forth in places he was still mortal and growing tired. A lunge and snapping teeth had caused more than a few to be on the cautious side around him but didn't stop them from circling and regrouping again. The smell of the motors and machines was making his eyes water and trying to keep pace with one to get it locked down and form an attack was making him dizzy.

There was no visible leader anywhere, no one seemed to be organizing their movements and he couldn't pinpoint where the strongest link in the chain was to break it as they kept hooting and hollering around him, driving him in circles of confusion as he stayed in a defensive position on all fours. Fending off the sticks and straps that kept getting thrown at him or acting as whips of some type had his teeth aching from grabbing so many even if he had successfully managed to knock several of the riders from their machines. The fox was panting when the line broke and could hear vehicles not far off in the distance trying to catch a scent on the wind, but all he could make out was the odd pungent smell coming from the machines. Nick stood to his feet again huffing as the line split and a spotted cat stepped out holding the bunny he had hidden in a tree. His lips peeled back in rage as his eyes landed on her and the paw the cat had wrapped around her throat.

The growl he sent had several mammals looking wearily between the two as the cat tilted his head and raised a pistol to Judy's head and Nick's hackles rose as his knees bent to pounce. The fox froze seeing the glint of shiny metal and the cat chuckled. Nicks eyes had gone wide and face had fallen with recognition as the doe in his arm half slipped from his grasp in a stupor. The fox was kicking himself for leaving her and putting her in her current state. But in the long run it didn't matter as Jarvis laughed and lowered his head. "Oh you aren't as stupid as I thought you'd be. You like the bunny?" he asked and Nick snarled as Jarvis nudged her head with his nose. She was barely keeping herself up on her feet and Nick was sure if the cat wasn't holding her she would fall over. Nick cringed as he heard the little buck in the ruck sack still strapped to her shoulder rustle inside the bag. "Let's see exactly how much you understand fox." Jarvis almost cooed as several of the mammals around him gathered a net and lifted it in front of Nick. The fox lowered his head growling and Jarvis pressed the butt of the gun into Judy's head a little further making her whimper.

Nick closed his eyes and sighed as he let his posture drop and turned his head holding his arms out in surrender. Jarvis tilted his head to the mammals holding the net and it was thrown over Nick where a single button was pressed and it compressed around him sending him into a growling fury as it bound his limbs while he tried to keep it from tightening around his throat with his front paws. The cat was chuckling as he looked down at the fox still holding Judy and Nick curled his fingers around the net baring his teeth at the feline. "I think we are going to have to fix that attitude you have fox." Another nod and Nick's eyes went wide as small discs holding the net together at each connection point popped open and turned red sending a jolt of electricity through him that had him grinding his teeth. Every corner that connected the web together was held in place by an electronic disc with teeth that surged enough power through it that most mammals would be unconscious with a single jolt. Jarvis tipped his head smirking as Nick looked back at him through narrowed eyes and vibrating gums. "Strong aren't you?"

"I should say so." Jarvis jerked his head as Jack stepped out of the tree line, the cat smiling at the rabbit who was fighting not to cringe with each step he took.

"You look a little worse for wear rabbit." Jarvis purred as he looked him over.

"Nice fur," Jack stated as he glared at the cat. "The last time I saw you it was a solid black. I take it this is your real pattern?"

Jarvis curled his lip and nodded "We are what we are, Speaking of fur, I love your pattern Jack." The striped buck scowled at him as he chuckled. "Guess you still haven't learned have you? Come in here guns blazing like the glory days thinking you are going to take us all out single pawed like the good ol days?"

Jack smirked as he set his ears and looked around shaking his head. "Who said I was alone?" Jarvis and the mammals around him all turned their eyes a full one eighty and he shook his head watching all the rabbits popping out from behind the brush and trees.

"Bunnies," Jarvis shot laughing. "Always with the bunnies?" Jack smiled wider and Jarvis blinked when he heard a low growl. He looked directly above him and found Charles and Travis half draped over a branch before the cheetah let off a growl worthy of any lion while the badger bounced his brow a few times. The spotted cat jerked again when a low rumbling growl came from the opposite direction and turned to see several wolves poking their heads out from behind the rabbits who were circling the little group. Jarvis laughed "I guess you can teach old dogs new tricks hey Jack?" The spotted cat lost his smile and went flat faced as he pressed the gun back to Judy's head. "Let's see how fast you learn."

Jarvis looked to his side and Jack dropped his paw from the weapon he had it on as Milo was tossed into the open area where Nick was still growling and fighting to keep the net from tightening any further. "You carry toys, ours are real." Jarvis pointed at Milo who cringed as a horse lowered his firearm and pointed it at his head. "I'll give them back, I just want the fox." Jack bit the side of cheek and Milo tried to get to his knees and fell back to the ground cringing. The bob cat looked like he had been through hell and back, his clothes were stained and whiskers crimped. Long streaks of grass cut through the usual pristine white of his shirt and one pant leg was torn open as he kept his eyes off Jack and anyone else watching.

"Back off," Jack stated flatly as Milo tilted his head away from the barrel. All the mammals in Static dropped their weapons in defeat as Jarvis smiled wider. The pin striped bucks eyes went wide as the fox rolled over and snapped at the bob cat. Milo jumped cringing before he stood to his full height and Jack watched bewildered as the calm demeanor he had always carried faded into a solid exterior of hardened will power and commanding presence.

Jarvis rolled his neck as Milo curled his lips baring his fangs at the fox who was growling at him. "I hate canines." Oz and Dee were both shaking their heads as Jack fought to keep his jaw from falling open. He quickly ground his teeth together as he realized why the fox had snapped at him to begin with. Hidden beneath one of the panels of his shirt that had been untucked he pulled out a revolver leveling it at Jack and shaking his head. "Twenty years Jack. I sat under you, filling out your paper work, running your errands, covering for your off the clock activities with all this, and what do I get for it? You hire a mutt to take your place when you retire and leave me sitting in the same dead end position."

Jack narrowed his eyes and shook his head seeing the male he had known and trusted for so long turn into someone he had never seen. He was furious with himself for not catching it. All the little slips of his tongue, the errors in reports the goof ups that could have cost them cases or lives were as blaring as a neon sign. "It's more than that." Jack spat and shook his head.

Milo chuckled as he straightened out his shirt. "You never could see beyond the moral implications Jack. It took me years to get under your skin and gain your trust, acting like a complete bumbling moron so you would let me into all this. I know where they are now, and even if I can't get to them, just one will give me everything I need. Think about it? A world of perfect soldiers that can heal themselves and keep fighting when they are injured. Stronger than any living modern mammal on the planet. Capable of living on nothing but the land around them and not needing any of what we consider necessity. They require no heating, no air conditioning, no housing, very little expense. Minimal training and they are resistant to nearly every toxin on the planet. Just a little bit of engineering to control and manipulate certain genes and we could create a new race of soldiers to be at our disposal."

Jack frowned and shook his head. "Oh please, this has nothing to do with saving the world or doing some great deed. It has everything to do with lining your wallet while you exploit them and use them as nothing more than tools at your disposal."

Milo laughed and bobbed his head. "Fair enough. I want them all dead just like the rest of everyone here. It doesn't mean I'm willing to let an opportunity pass me by. No one has ever captured one and kept it alive."

Jack was disgusted as he shook his head. "Ironic, you all think they are some kind of an abomination and yet you are willing to use them to make abominations that the Gods had no design in creating, when they are of this world and a part of nature in how they evolved.

Milo scowled "We are the Gods now Jack. We create what we see fit for the world and destroy what no longer belongs in it. That is the way of the modern world and has been for centuries." They all looked up as a chopper came from the distance and Milo was smiling as a ladder was dropped. Milo secured a tether to the net holding Nick and quirked a brow as Judy giggled. Jack turned and watched her lean into the cat running her head along his paw.

"You have really soft fur," she looked back up at the cat smiling as if she were drunk and Jarvis laughed as she leaned into his chest.

"We'll be taking her with us by the way. It seems the fox is easier to control when she is around."Milo laughed as Judy almost stumbled. Jarvis caught her laughing as Nick growled again.

Jack almost missed it. She was letting her body sway as if she were drunk and the pin striped rabbit let his face fall into a dead stare when he caught her gaze land on him for a brief second. In that second he saw the cat holding her let go of the firm grip he had on her and watched as he become more and more amused with her somewhat flirty drunken like behavior. As Jarvis handed her off to Milo the cat turned smirking as she stumbled into his chest and wrapped her arms around his neck. Milo shook his head "Bunnies." Jack bit his lip as the bob cat motioned for the chopper and Judy turned throwing her weight into her elbow and landing a solid hit right under his rib cage. The cat snatched her by the wrist as the bird lifted from the ground. Judy was dangling in the paw of the furious feline as Nicks claws unsheathed fully and tore the net apart. The bob cat went wide eyed when the fox cut himself loose and dangled from the net before he was swinging back and forth. Milo dropped the bunny in favor of not being torn to shreds and Nick plunged through the air catching Judy just before he landed in a tree with her in his arms and staring daggers back at the chopper that was attempting to turn around. Addie poked his head out and crawled to Judy's chest as she tried to catch her breath. The fox climbed down from the tree landing right at the center of what was about to become an all out brawl.

Every mammal on the ground scrambled for cover as gunfire surged through the air from the chopper. "J.J.! DO SOMETHING AND GET THAT BIRD OUT OF THE AIR!" The rabbit Jack had screamed at was hopping in ecstasy as he dug through a bag and pulled out several cylinders before he lit them and Jacks face fell as his eyes went wide. "NOT THAT!"

The buck took one glance at the lit sticks in his paw and hurled them into the air. "DYNOMITE!" J.J. screamed as Jack started scrambling.

"COVER!" Jack yelled and watched as Dannie and Opie clapped paws over their ears, followed by all the other rabbits just before they dove into the nearest recess they could find. Snarlov and Wolford ducked behind a tree as Chester and Travis wound themselves around the branch they were still sitting in. Oz and Dee had wrapped around each other shaking their heads as Nick quirked a brow. The first stick sent a blast through the air just above the tree tops that set several of them on fire. The second wave from the next one thrown tossed the helicopter into a spin and left the mammals in the helicopter screaming as they lost control while Milo still clung to the ladder that was flailing around under it. The third J.J just barely had time to hurl into the air before it detonated throwing all the mammals on the ground several feet and knocking many of them unconscious with the sound.

Nick picked himself up huffing and shaking his head as he checked over Judy. The little black buck that had been in her ruck sack had crawled into the front of her shirt at some point and was shivering in fear as the fox noted her ears were bleeding. He growled when he opened her lids and noted one pupil was slightly larger than the other. The little bunny on her chest was in no better condition as they had been the closest to all three detonations. Nick stood pulling Judy to his chest and watched all the mammals around him standing or stumbling trying to get to their feet. Jack crawled out from the bush he had been under trying to get the ringing in his ears to settle when he caught sight of the fox holding the unconscious bunny. Many of the mammals who had come in with the Presalvation were fleeing towards any vehicle they could spot as Jack found his footing again. He watched the helicopter level out and Milo seething as he climbed in it before it disappeared. Nick lowered his head and turned his lips up as Jack approached him. The buck froze as the fox dipped his head low enough that if he weren't holding Judy it would have been touching his chest. His brows went down and Jack held a paw out as the growl he sent vibrated several of the trees in the surrounding area.

Oz, Dee, Opie, Schneider, Alfonzo and J.J. stopped dead in their tracks when the fox dug his foot claws into the earth and scratched the ground with his paw pads. Wolford and Snarlov dipped their ears back and were followed shortly by anyone who had any sense. It was a territorial display marking a point that shouldn't be crossed and a warning that if anyone came closer he would attack them. Jack shook his head holding out a paw and crouching in a submissive pose "Piberius…" The fox snapped his jaw and let off a thunderous roar as Jack took another step forward. The rabbit froze and cast his eyes to the ground just before Nick snorted and took off. "FUCK!" Jack screamed as he slapped a paw to his head. "GODS DAMN IT I NEED TYLER!"

Jack scowled at J.J. and watched as his brother shrugged. "I swear Mom dropped you on your head a few times when you were a kit." Oz tilted his head as Snarlov and Wolford both crinkled their brows shaking their heads.

"You want us to go after him?" Alfonzo asked and Jack rubbed his temple shaking his head.

"No, let him go, he feels cornered again and he will take action. No point in making a bad situation worse by trying to force the issue. Maybe if I give him some time he will calm down." Jack looked around assessing his crew and sighed. "Doesn't look like anyone is seriously injured, those of you who need assistance, choose a leader to guide you back. Those who are able bodied start rounding up the ones who are still trying to get away- and find that damn cat Jarvis! Dee, go to Zootopia, take Alfonzo and Schneider with you and find out what the hell is going on there. J.J. take Opie and Danny and a few members of static and find out why the hell he got out of the perimeter and where. I need answers yesterday. Oz, Wolford and Snarlov, you're with me. Make sure you get all the team members and rendezvous before you call in air support. No reason to try and drag all these guys back by foot when we have a bird that can come in. Now that Piberius has seen one it doesn't matter if he sees another, he'll stay clear of anyone from here on out." Both wolves from precinct one gave him a funny look as he found a tree to lean against and watched as his team members spread through the forest following his last orders. "Centuries of work getting them to trust us and it went down the drain in one damn day because I screwed up-again."

"Centuries?" Snarlov asked as Wolford looked between Jack and his team.

"I tried to explain this to you once and you didn't want to listen." Jack stated flatly as he deadpanned them both.

"And we said and still say you are full of shit!" Wolford barked pulling his lips over his gums and exposing his teeth.

"No he's not," Oz shook his head and they both jerked their attention to him.

"THERE ARE NO OTHERS AND IT IS FORBIDDEN!" Wolford screamed and turned to see Jack with an incredulous look on his face as he pointed in the direction the fox fled in.

"Well what the hell is he then!? Do you think I planted a seed and another species of canine just popped out of the ground like a damn flower? He came from somewhere. And your forefathers are the only reason they are still living! They never betrayed the packs! It was all a lie to cover what they were really doing and keep it hidden from the world and Emperor Nistalinas. Do you know how many species went extinct during the ice age? Do you know how many they tried to save? How many were killed because they were different? I can't even name all of them!"

Wolford shook his head as Snarlov growled. "Tyler would never betray the packs by having anything to do with the Nishtlar Wolves!"

Oz growled and shook his head. "WE ARE THE NISHTLAR WOLVES AND WE NEVER BETRAYED ANYONE!" Wolford and Snarlov blanched as Dee cupped her paws around her mates arm soothing him as he seethed. Several wolves came forward from the chaos of the static and dipped their heads nodding agreement as Oz sighed. "Roughly translated Nishtlar means Night Howler. We are the Night Howler pack of Zootopia. So are you. No one ever understood why they chose that name when they settled here, but no one has ever put the two together and asked either. I never betrayed the pack. I have been in training to take over for Jack when he retires. My father knew what I was doing and approved of it. There has always been a guardian in the government to keep an eye on agencies who may try to find out about them and do them harm. The original Nishtlar wolves were one elder from each pack that joined together and set off to save as many species as they could when they saw what was happening. They couldn't tell anyone what they were doing at the time because it would have gotten them beheaded, so they made up a story to tell and pass along through time to keep everyone from digging into what they were really doing. It made everyone hate them, but it kept the ones they saved safe. That is why Zootopia is out here in the middle of a desert along this range no one can get into. It was the safest place in the world to hide them at and the easiest to watch for anyone who meant them harm."

Snarlov tipped his head and tilted his ears "And rabbits got involved how?"

Jack sighed as he leaned into the tree. "These species have been isolated for more than ten thousand years. The Nishtlar wolf pack somehow managed to get them here using nothing but body language. A lot of it has been lost over time because there was no need to communicate with them as long as they were safe behind the barriers of the mountains. The very little that has survived was passed down to Tyler just as it was the alpha before him and so on. Oz knows a little about it, but has been trying to study them as much as he could to figure out a new way to communicate because it's not very effective. Especially when there are only a few we interact with. Rabbits were chosen centuries ago as a go between because we were their natural prey and posed absolutely no threat to them at all. Wolves and rabbits are the only species they have seen in more than ten thousand years. And pretty much all the trust that was built over the centuries was just lost for rabbits and wolves because Piberius doesn't know who to trust right now. All he knows for sure is that someone who was supposed to be his friend brought an enemy into their territory and every other species he has met in the last week has been trying to capture or kill him. The only person he is going to trust outside his own people right now is Judy Hopps, for obvious reasons."

"Well what the hell do they want him for anyway?" Wolford asked.

Oz sighed again, "Biological warfare and just an over righteous sense of self preservation to kill him and feel superior. With all the technology we have you would think we would be smart enough to know when to leave something alone but it's usually the opposite. They aren't as advanced as us in the ways of what is considered modern, but on an evolutionary scale… were still amebas compared to them. They didn't change and adapt to the progress because they never needed to. They fit perfectly into the environment and are in sync with the world and the way it works. From everything that I have seen so far they have their own measures of time. They can move boulders and stones that weigh tons simply by finding the correct magnetic path along the earth to push it along. They are resistant to heat and cold because they are adapted to both. It seems like they can control their metabolism and how they exert their energy to an extent by maximizing or minimizing a set group of muscles, which only makes them stronger. They live off the land and farm very little. The problem in regards to what others want to do with them is that for the most part they appall violence. They have a mindset that pretty much says live and let live. They will only fight if they have to. Many species died under Nistalinas for simply refusing to participate in the arena."

Wolford shook his head "OK, say we buy this shit. Exactly how many species did they save?"

Oz and Jack looked at each other and shrugged. "We don't know." Both the wolves deadpanned them as they shook their heads. "Piberius is the farthest out in the way of defenses on the inside. He is- I don't know what to call him, like a gate keeper or the ultimate guardian. No one has been allowed to enter their territory since it was set up. It was thought that the less anyone knew about them the better off it would be because curiosity- well, killed the cat." Oz and Jack both rolled their eyes as Wolford and Snarlov raised a brow. Jack shook his head "Ever wonder where that saying came from?" he asked and watched both wolves shake their heads. "Saber toothed Tigers. Nistalinas liked them a little more than the others and had a thing about using them in the arenas. Used to brag about it and even kept a log about how he caught them. Said they were so curious about anything unusual they couldn't help but try to find out what it was and it made them easier to catch than any of the other mammals they used. They were one of the first species to go extinct because of it."

"You mean to tell me there may be other species of canines in there?" Wolford asked with wide eyes as Jack nodded.

"It is possible. Timber wolves, arctic wolves and grey wolves aren't the only species of canines there have ever been, they're just the only ones that are in the world now."

A sharp whistled turned all their heads and Jack raised both brows as Opie and Danny tossed a mammal at his feet. "Brought you a present Jackie boy." Opie cooed and scrunched her nose. Another group of rabbits were coming up behind them all leading several weasels who were barking and hissing. Jack set one side of his lip higher and narrowed his eyes at the sheep who was grinding his teeth in front of him on the ground.

"JACKIE!" Jack turned at the sound of J.J's voice and found him walking with a black furred red eyed rabbit at his side. The doe was looking around shaking her head with wide eyes and Jack motioned for J.J. to keep her back as Alfonzo and Schneider got their attention caught by a group of static rabbits Jack had sent to do a mile sweep of earlier. He motioned to Oz who rushed to the smaller rabbits and took over trying to help the cougar walk as Dee slid on the other side of her.

"Aww my head is killing me." Sheriff Catmull complained as Dee and Oz sat her down. Wolford and Snarlov blinked and stared as the cougar kept rubbing her temple and Jack quirked a brow.

"Something wrong with this?" Jack asked seeing their jaws hanging open, both wolves blinked and nodded absently as Jack looked between them. Oz was doing a general assessment of the cat as they continued to stare. "Oz?" Jack asked and the wolf turned shaking his head.

"Nothing, I can't find anything unusual about her except that she seems to have a pretty bad headache and might be a little dehydrated."

Wolford and Snarlov both shook their heads. "Maybe if we can figure out what fixed her we can fix Tyler too."

Oz jerked back to them with wide eyes "What's wrong with my father?"

"Same thing that was wrong with her. He went savage." Wolford replied as he motioned to the cat.

Jack was swinging his eyes back and forth between the wolves but had been keeping an eye on the ram in front of him. A slight twitch of his nostrils when the word savage was said and Jack raised a brow and narrowed his eyes on the ram in front of him. "Opie? Did you guys check him?" Both red furred rabbits shook their heads and stepped closer to Jack as he motioned towards the ram. Doug ground his teeth and lowered his head as he clenched one paw and kicked a foot out knocking Opie off her feet before he turned and threw a blue ball at Jack. Danny and Alfonzo tackled the ram and had him back on his knees as they all turned their attention to Jack who was hissing through the blue gunk that was splattered on his face. Doug smirked as Jack wiped his face off and opened his eyes looking at the blue liquid that evaporated into a thin powder and blew away with a breeze. He looked at the ram who's jaw fell open and Doug was shaking his head as Jack scowled. "A little early for paintball season isn't it?" Jack hissed as he scowled.

"NO! YOU'RE JUST A RABBIT! IT'S NOT POSSIBLE!"

Jack folded his arms over his chest and dropped his head to one side frowning at the ram. "Indeed, I am just a rabbit. How very astute of you to notice….."


	16. Betrayal.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Confusion and conclusion for a fox.

Under Earth 16

Jack rolled his eyes as several of his team members flinched when a large four wheeler popped up over the hill and skid to a stop in front of a group who had leveled weapons in the same direction. The buck curled his lip as he leaned back against the tree and shifted his eyes at the sloth with a frown. "Had…to….make…."

"An entrance." Jack finished for him as he shook his head. Flash attempted a smile and shrug that elongated into an awkward pose as Jack shifted his eyes back to the ram in front of him. Danny and Dee were both keeping him secured as the buck lifted from the tree and walked to him. Doug ground his teeth and Jack searched through his pockets finding a small metal tin he pulled out and opened. He quirked a brow seeing the two small blue orbs and closed it tossing it to Oz. "So since I am a normal bunny, exactly what was that supposed to do to me?" Jack asked and Doug ground his teeth into a scowl towards the buck. "Oz." Jack asked as the wolf looked over the pellets and shook his head motioning to Dee.

The female wolf tipped her head and went for a bag pulling out a small chem set handing it to her mate and Doug lowered his brow watching the wolf sticking a needle into one of the projectiles pulling a sample and sticking it between two glass plates before putting it under a small microscope. The wolf was furrowing his brow and shaking his head as Jack kept glancing back at him from the ram he was watching. "This guy has a background in biochemistry Jack. He's not just a normal run of the mill lacky." Jack turned tipping his head and ears as Doug growled. "This is going to take me some time. I don't have the right equipment out here to find out what this is. I can send a compile to Agnes and have her run it through the data base for me but it looks like plant proteins and several kinds of minerals that are binding everything together. Depending on how long it takes Agnes to run this and how long you want to wait, we could be here for a few hours Jack."

Jack sighed as he nodded and rubbed his temples, motioning to the static crew and several of his team members. "It will take twenty minutes for air support to get here. Milo has all our frequencies so as soon as they land scramble everything. It's unlikely they will come back knowing I have support coming in. We won't be able to communicate with any one after another mile into the range." Flash started to raise a finger and Jack held a paw up. "All the iron ore and magnetic fields around the mountains block all communications. Nothing electronic works in there and when it does it is random and sparse, sometimes codes get scrambled and make no sense, and no machines work in there. Everything shuts down."

Ruby stepped closer to Jack shaking her head. "My sister and my brother are still out here."

"Ms. Hopps. They are with Piberius and he will keep them safe. Flash will take you home. Charles and Travis, travel with them and make sure to get her home safely. The rest of you have your orders. Alfonzo and Dee, take this group here," Jack motioned to the weasels and Doug, along with sheriff Catmull "to Zootopia, then you and Shnieder can figure out what the deal is with the red net. Get Bogo involved and find out how the hell this is connected. Have Catmull checked out at the local hospital and get some blood work on her too." Oz kept an eye on his less than exemplary traveling science kit after sending Agnes the specs he had gathered and Jack watched as a large chopper came in hovering and lowering a dock for the prisoners and crew to step onto that was lifted back up before it left the scene. He shook his head as he watched his sisters take off in the direction of the perimeters to the mountain range hoping they could find out why and how Piberius had left the safeguards of the compound and turned as Charles, Travis and Flash helped a reluctant Ruby on the four wheeler before Flash was gone in a blink with the two predators chasing along beside him.

Snarlov and Wolford caught Jack flinching as they all watched Dee say goodbye to her mate and leave with the chopper, leaving the four males the only ones remaining to find the fox and rabbits he was protecting…..

Nick had been moving for several hours and was nearly back to where he knew he needed to be. He was just hoping the passage was still open and heaved a sigh of relief seeing it still there. He had pulled Judy to his chest and was curling his muzzle after checking her eyes again. The little buck on her chest that had curled into his chest between them as he carried them was still shivering and he knew they were both in shock. But Judy's condition was unsettling and he needed to get her back into the place he had come from closer to one of the only things he knew would help as he slipped though the passage. The fox closed his eyes and blew out a breath before he took a blind step forward and fell. Half a second later he was sliding through the earth and kicking off random areas to make sure he was going the right direction and he kept the two rabbits close to his chest. This wasn't an area he was horribly familiar with and it was concerning no one else had noticed it as he finally caught the light shining through again and braced as the ice covered ground under him fled away.

A quick glance and he caught the massive ice sickle hanging from the cave ceiling and dug his claws into it using it to slow his decent until his feet hit the ground hard enough that his knees nearly buckled. The fox grunted as he stood again. Checking the rabbits before he made his way to the running water flowing under the earth, he gently laid them down looking over Judy after pulling Addie off her chest. Nick had cradled Judy's head in one of his folded knees as he held the little black bunny cooing and clicking at him trying to get a response. The small bunny had tried to curl into his muzzle and Nick sighed as he set him down next to Judy and tore the pack away from her shoulders before ripping her shirt off and using it to bundle the smaller bunny in what could only be described as a cocoon. Nick smiled as the little bunny settled into the embrace and stopped shivering before he was purring making the fox chuckle as he returned his attention to Judy. The doe was completely unresponsive and Nick was biting his cheek wishing he was home to get the right kind of help. But he didn't have a choice in the matter on his course of actions seeing her eyes again. Her left pupil had become twice the size of the right and he knew there was a significant problem as he laid the little bunny down beside his outer leg and dipped Judy's head in the icy water running in front of them.

This was more than a simple concussion and he cleaned away the blood from her ears and examined her head carefully. It was small, almost unnoticeable, but his fingers caught it as they ran over the small knot at the back of her skull. The bleeding from her ears had stopped, but there was pressure being put on her brain from something hitting her in the head and swelling and Nick closed his eyes and shook his head before he dipped a claw into the water and ran it through his teeth. He peeled off the outermost layer removing any contaminates and licked it covering it with his saliva before bracing it just under the knot and ground his teeth as he pressed it into her head feeling a small pop as it barely slipped through her flesh and bone. A rush of warmth ran over his fingers and he opened his eyes as the doe in his arms gasped before dipping her head back into the icy water again. The fox was laughing and surprised he had watery eyes and her nose started twitching as she groaned several times trying to lift her arms to grasp his wrists where he was still holding her head in the cool water.

After watching her for more than an hour Nick had pulled her and Addie back to his chest once the bleeding had stopped and licked her head several times as she fell into a peaceful sleep. He curled around the two of them deciding to wait to move again until she was a little more stable and kept them warm in the ice as he wrapped them both completely in his fur by wrapping his body under and around the two of them and using his tail to cover them both. Addie was snuggled into Nicks chest between him and Judy and the doe had loosely wrapped around Nick making him coo and let off several clicking noises as he rested his head over the top of hers and closed his eyes….

Jack stepped closer to Oz as the wolf looked over the profile Agnes had sent back from the agency. He shook his head with a scowl as Jack tipped a brow. "Midnicampum holicithias, it's used a pesticide in farming and is planted around crops to keep bugs away."

Jack scrunched his nose as Wolford and Snarlov both tipped their ears. "Little flowers, dark purple tips and blue petals with white centers?" Snarlov asked and Oz nodded.

Jack rubbed his chin, "What would it have done to someone if it hit them?"

Oz looked him over and tilted his head. "Turned them savage? The flowers themselves are toxic Jack, to anyone who is stupid enough to eat them. But what this guy has done has intensified it to a point where it would eventually become permanent. It won't wear off if we can't find a way to reverse it." Jack folded his arms as all three males trained their attention to the wolf still looking over the data and what was in his traveling science kit as he shook his head. "It's just like any other drug Jack. You cook it under pressure and add a few elements and it will intensify the effects and make it toxic. In Addition to cooking it down and concentrating it whatever he was cooking it in was lined with iron. It's essentially sticking to blood platelets and blocking neurotransmitters in the brain, keeping the mammals that are infected in a state of constant pain. It amps up the adrenaline glands and thyroid, intensifying muscle strength and the ability to keep fighting and staying in a state where they are either in fight or flight mode, most likely fight mode because of the adrenaline rush. Noise would be painful, bright colors and scents would set of primal responses of rage and they would do just about anything to make it stop because it would just…hurt. Over time it would just keep blocking oxygen flow to primary parts of the brain causing the headache to get worse and the pain to grow. But eventually it will wear the organs down and kill the one it has infected through exhaustion and over exertion. Even if they lived after being like this for more than six months, if we could find a cure there would likely be permanent brain damage."

"What about the cougar?" Jack asked as he looked back at Wolford and Snarlov who had both curled their lips and shook their heads.

"I have no idea. Or you for that matter Jack. This would effect a prey mammals the same way it does the predators, so there is no reason for you not to be stark raving mad right now. The reason it evaporated was because it is so concentrated. Just a tiny amount of it soaking into the skin would be enough to infect any mammal, the smaller the mammals the more intense the effect, but as soon as it hits the air it dissipates and would be extremely difficult to detect without doing an extensive search. Without knowing what to look for it would be easily over looked and only trace amounts could be found if anything, considering these mammals aren't exactly co-operative when they are caught it might be impossible, and once it's in a powder form it loses its effectiveness."

"So why aren't you savage, Savage?" Wolford asked as he folded his arms over his chest and Jack shook his head.

Oz tilted his ears forward and Jack pursed his lips. "I'd have to wait to get some blood work back on Catmull to see what happened with her, but you… Jack I haven't gotten any blood work from you since the-"

"DON'T GO THERE OZ. EVER." Jack hissed as he narrowed his eyes. Oz sighed as he turned his head and started packing his kit up and Wolford and Snarlov glanced at each other as Jack balled his fist and crimped the skin between his eyes between his fingers as he turned. "Wolford and Snarlov. I need you tracking. Can you do it with the mess that is still here?"

Both wolves scoffed as they looked around at the scattered machines and scent of explosives and gasoline everywhere before they rolled their eyes. The buck smirked as they both shot him a smirk and Oz laughed as they started heading to the last spot they had seen the fox. Jack shot Oz a grin and raised his ears motioning to the two wolves and the darker wolf shook his head. "I had my nose stuck in books Jack. I can smell just as good as any other wolf, but those two trained specifically for this, and I trained for this." Oz pointed to his machines and Jack stuck his paws in his pockets when Oz stopped and stared. "It wasn't your fault Jack."

Jack curled his lips fighting keeping his teeth from showing and let his ears drop. "Who's fault was it then Oz? This is the second time I have failed them and I wasn't even smart enough to catch it the first time. He was right under my nose and is more than likely the reason for the first time it happened."

"Jack," Oz shook his head. "You can't measure all your success by your only failures. You are a mammal just like everyone else. You are doing all this to retire early and get back to where you belong."

Jack let his ears fall and his eyes fell to the ground as he stuck his paws in his pockets and shook his head. "I'm not sure I belong anywhere anymore."

The dark furred wolf stuck a paw on his shoulder and Jack looked up to see him smiling. "I don't think that is for you to decide Jack."

Jack lowered his head again "I know it's not, and that's what I'm afraid of….."

Nick unwound himself from the ball he had curled into and looked over the rabbits that were now cradled in his lap. Judy's eyes were back to normal and the fox smiled seeing her wrap her arms around the bundled up bunny against her chest. He ran a thumb over her cheek grinning wider as she leaned into his palm. He looked around thinking about how he was going to move carrying the two of them and picked up the pack Judy had been carrying and nearly yipped when he noticed the blanket that was curled into a bundle under the sack. It only took him a few moments to wrap it around the doe and he had them both tied securely to his back before he started heading towards the walls of the cave. There was limited light in the space which wasn't a problem for him as he started climbing, jumping from one ledge to the next and measuring his steps as he let his feet dig into the ice and earth that was leading out of the cave back into where he knew he needed to get to. He stopped when he felt Judy shift and squeak, looking over his shoulder to find her eyes wide looking down at the massive drop they were now hanging over before he swung up and landed on a solid ledge of rock.

Nick dipped his head over his shoulder garnering her attention and the doe looked at him blinking trying to see anything in the dim light. The reflections from the water below made the height obvious, but seeing directly in front of her was a little more difficult. Her head was throbbing and she felt dizzy as she curled her arm around her brother who was purring in her arm. Her legs were dangling from the blanket he had tied around himself like a sling keeping them both secured to his back as he brushed his muzzle along her cheek. Judy lifted her other arm curling it around his neck as she let the darkness consume her again. Nick fought not to laugh and startle her again as he jumped up to the next ledge when her fingers twisted into the fur around his neck as she buried her head into his shoulders.

He kept moving at a steady pace, by the time he had gotten to level ground again Judy had stirred opening her eyes and was in awe. Once again the fox turned his head as he heard her utter the same word she had said when he took her to see the moon. "Beautiful." The cavern they were in was anything but a natural wonder, but couldn't be described as anything else. It was ancient and light poured through at certain places that left the person looking around in wondering trying to determine where it was coming in from. Massive pillars of stone had been carved into enormous domes with intricate geometrical shapes lacing everything together. Water stood a good foot off the ground and rippled through the solid surface like drops in a mirror each time the fox took a step on his pads wading through the glasslike surface. It was like standing in a rainbow with all the colors reflecting at so many angles through the water and dancing off the walls.

Murals of colorful depictions of things Judy couldn't imagine the meaning of were all over the walls. Mammals of all different species and sizes looked as if they were dancing, fighting, working or farming took the majority of the spaces. Several of what looked like canines traveling together and hiding, hunting, building things caught her attention before the fox stopped and stuck his nose in the air. His ears set and his nostrils flared before she caught the whisper of a smile on his lips and she recognized the look as the same she had seen on the farm. Something he had missed was on the air and he was almost giddy as his muscles tensed before she squeaked as he took off running in a fast sprint….

Jack looked around as the wolves pointed into the darkness of the cave opening. "What the hell?" Jack asked as he examined the opening. Oz craned his neck before he looked back to Jack and saw the buck shaking his head. "You sure this is where he went?" Jack asked and both wolves deadpanned him. He held up both paws in surrendered before he stepped into the dark space and poked his head back out. "Oz, I thought there was only one entrance to the mountains?"

The wolf blinked as he shrugged "There was as far as we've always known Jack, but it is a big range. It's not like we can come in here with geometric and thermals to really see what's under the place or do a lot of exploring. It's too easy to get turned around and lost in here and no equipment works up here.."

Jack groaned as he ran his paws back over his face. "Well I guess we know where he left from, now we have to figure out why. I just sent my sisters on a wild goose chase because I doubt they find anything if this is where he came from. How far ahead of us are they?" Jack asked as he turned back to the two wolves still standing to the side of the narrowing passage.

"A few hours at least, maybe four, depends on if he stopped for any reason." Wolford motioned back into the dark space and Jack shook his head as he let his shoulders fall and stepped into the darkness.

"Well, let's get this over with an-AHHHH!" All three wolves jolted as Jacks voice continued to howl and grow more distant.

Wolford stepped into the cave and cursed "Shit- it's a drop off!"

"GO!" Oz screamed before they all jumped into the darkness training their eyes to the light as they fell into the space and started sliding along the ice accelerating at every turn.

Snarlov was laughing as Oz and Wolford kept their eyes wide in horror trying to catch sight of the buck who had disappeared. "Woo hoo! This should be a theme park ride!" the white wolf laughed.

Wolford growled as he tried to brace the ice with his claws to slow his descent, hissing as they were pulled at the sheaths. "ARE YOU CRAZY!" The smaller wolf turned his body and slid past the larger wolf on his stomach with his eyes narrowed and ears pinned back as Wolford shook his head. "Yep-crazy." He muttered as Snarlov laughed again.

Jack had no idea where he was heading and felt his stomach drop as the ground under him disappeared. "Oh shit," he barely spat as he flew into a large ice wall. The large hanging pillar he had barely dug his claws into was too large to grasp with his arms and he barely managed to drag his claws into it as he slipped, falling to the ground and grinding his teeth as he hit his ankle. The buck rolled over hissing as he scrambled against a wall to brace against as he pulled his leg into his chest biting his tongue. He plastered himself to the cold wall as he heard a hysterical laughing and looked to see the reflection of the water on the ceiling hit the white wolf who seemed like he was flying before he caught the ice and wound around it like he was a sliding around a pole.

The white wolf landed on his feet smirking as he looked back up. "HEADS UP- DROP OFF!" he screamed and Wolford and Oz glanced at each other before their eyes went wide as the air engulfed them and left them hurling towards a solid surface. Jack closed his eyes not wanting to see the disaster but when he opened them again after hearing two grunts and another hysterical laugh he looked to see Snarlov laughing and both wolves standing there wide eyed and heaving every breath.

"YOU ASSHOLE!" Wolford barked as Snarlov clutched his ribs laughing and shrugged.

Oz shook his head before he turned to see Jack clutching his leg and rushed the buck looking over his ankle and cringing. "Jack," he shook his head and the buck sighed. "It's not broke but it's bad."

"Tell me something I don't know."

The wolf looked back the way they had come and shook his head. "I don't even know how we could get back out of here Jack. Definitely not the way we came in."

Jack laid his leg out straight cinching his jaw and shook his head. "Which is another point of fact. If we can't get out this way, there is no way that ram climbed up there. There is another way in and out and we haven't seen it yet."

Jack stood up on the ankle he could hold weight on and looked around. There was nothing in here they could use as a brace for his ankle that he could see. Snarlov tilted his head and jumped over a large mound of ice popping back up with the purple ruck sack Judy had been carrying.

"Well at least we know we are going the right direction." Snarlov held the bag up.

Oz dipped down to his knees. Jack leaned away as the dark furred wolf narrowed his eyes looking back at him. "Get on Jack, we can't leave you here in this cold being injured like that." Jack rolled his eyes as he wrapped his arms around Oz's neck. Wolford and Snarlov led the way to the steep cliffs and both wolves blanched seeing the incline the fox had climbed up and shook their heads.

"No way." Wolford whispered as he looked up the side. "I am not a cat."

"Neither is the fox," Oz smirked as he grabbed a ledge and started pulling himself up.

Snarlov laughed as Wolford's jaw dropped open. "Meow," the white wolf chirped as he jumped up and caught a ledge.

"You're all crazy." Wolford grumbled as he started climbing and shook his head….

Nick had crawled through another narrow path and Judy was marveling again at the colors all around her. Everything was green. Different shades of it all over the landscape. Colorful flowers of the likes she had never seen sat blooming everywhere and trees that looked as if they had grown through all eternity towered above everything. A canopy of kaleidoscopes in nature she knew no one had seen in centuries was draped everywhere. Nick was moving through it like a leaf, moving with every swaying branch and silent as if the wind was carrying him through every turn he made. The fox had stopped several times and done nothing other than just seeming to take stock of where he was like he had been away from a long lost lover before he moved again. Judy had frozen when he stepped out into a large clearing where massive stones sat in odd patterns as he stepped to the center and stopped. He raised to his pads again and she fought not to clamp her paws over her ears as he bellowed out another sound she had never heard him make before. It was deep and resonated off the surrounding stones and seemed too echo back through everything around them. She buried her head into his shoulders as she curled around Addie and snuggled into the fabric cradling them against his back.

Addie had began to wiggle out of his bindings and Judy didn't have much strength to keep him still as he poked his head out from the fabric looking around. Nick had stilled in the center of the clear space keeping his eyes ticking around the area when a white furred vixen shot from the dense greenery. Judy wasn't sure what she was, some kind of fox. She had a thick tuft of fur around her neck and was much smaller in stature to Nick. The red fox lifted his head and straightened his back when the vixen stopped cold in her tracks looking at what he had attached to his back. The frown on her face wasn't so much disappointment or anger so much as it was sorrow as she let her head drop in front of him while holding his gaze.

The two had some kind of conversation that left them both throwing their arms around towards each other before the red fox had ground his jaw together and growled at her. Judy watched as she turned her face for the first time and caught the large scar across her face that had clipped her eye, leaving a blind orb in its place. The vixen dropped her head and sighed before Judy watched her jump onto the highest stone that was above all the others. She dropped her head again before she seemed to take a deep breath and raised her head as she stood on all fours and belted out a howl that the doe was sure was more wolf than fox. Nick sat in the center of the area they had come to and pulled Judy to his front, cradling her in his lap as Addie unwound himself from the shirt he had been wrapped in and stayed close to the red fox who was petting him between the ears…..

"Merciful Gods," Wolford uttered as he looked around at the massive underground structure of the cistern and catacombs that had been built centuries ago. "How the hell could you not know all this was here?" he asked Jack as he shook his head.

The buck clinging to Oz's back was just as dumbfounded as he looked at all the history painted on the walls and the size of the place. "No one knew it was here." Jack shook his head as his ears twitched. He turned his head picking up a sound he knew he shouldn't be able to hear, but knew it to well not to recognize it. "Oz, go that way." He pointed to the right and Oz turned following the rabbits directions until they reached a path that had been recently carved out. The buck curled his brow and shook his head as the wolves curled their noses. "I can just barely hear the trains in Zootopia from here."

Oz, Wolford and Snarlov all tilted their brows as they shook their heads. "Smells like sulfur."

"How the hell did they get this far into this and what the hell were they doing down here?" Jack sighed as he rubbed his temple clutching Oz with his other arm. "Whatever it is, let's go find Piberius so we can get this sorted out. I have to get the Hopps back to their family." Jack was lost in his own thoughts as Wolford and Snarlov led the way back to where they had left the scent of the fox and rabbits. Both wolves stopped and looked out the path that led into what looked like an ancient jungle before glancing back at Oz and Jack. The buck shrugged and motioned for them to go forward. "Oz will have to help me get through after you two are clear. It's not wide enough to get through with me on his back like this."

Wolford and Snarlov slipped through and looked around at the massive leaves and trees shaking their heads, they both turned and went slack jawed and wide eyed seeing the carvings along the stone cliffs they had emerged from. One from every wolf pack that had ever existed along with many they had never seen. "Oh Gods," Wolford whispered as he shivered. "We're in the forbidden lands of the great ancestors of the predators past. This is supposed to just be a legend! Under Earth. We'll be damned for all eternity just for setting foot in this place and doomed to walk the earth as souls who will never find peace in any after life." Both backed away and froze as they hit a massive wall of fur and muscle behind them. Each wolf swallowed as they slowly looked up and back and found themselves looking into the eyes of a wolf twice as large as both of them with whiter fur than they had ever seen on any mammal.

"AHHHHH!" They both screamed and fell into the ground clinging to each other clamping their eyes shut. "I didn't believe him! I didn't believe him!" Snarlov whimpered as the wolf in front of them snorted and straightened his back after sniffing them. The large wolf cackled like a hyena as they both cracked their eyes open in disbelief. He was a Dire wolf. He was a good two feet taller and at least one hundred fifty pounds heavier than Wolford, who was one of the largest wolves in their pack, and as a timber wolf also the largest species known to be in existence. They watched wide eyed as the wolf disappeared as if he were a ghost into the mist that was clinging to the plants all around them. Oz came through the path and helped Jack limp out to his side. They both looked at the wolves on the ground tilting their heads waiting for an explanation as Wolford pointed to nothing. "I think we saw a ghost wolf."

Oz slapped a paw over his face shaking his head as Jack sighed. "Definitely not a ghost. His name is Phantom. One of the few we have met and their tribe leader. If he is here that means Piberius is waiting for him."

"Phantom." Oz chuckled as Jack scowled at him. "You picked the weirdest names for them Jack." The buck shrugged as Oz lowered back and let Jack onto his back again. "Come on you two, we have some catching up to do. They move faster than we can." Wolford and Snarlov picked themselves up following Oz as he started making his way through a very defined path.

"They aren't worried about us being in here?" Wolford asked as him and Snarlov looked around."

Oz turned looking back at both wolves and tipped a brow. "He knows what pack you are from just by smelling you. If he is here then Piberius called for him and he has more important things on his mind than worrying about a couple of pups…"

Nick sat with his eyes closed waiting in an almost meditative state keeping the little bunny beside him entertained with his tail when he heard the larger paw steps coming to him. The fox opened his eyes and dipped his head as the white wolf stepped in front of him and shook his head as he looked at the bunny in his arms. Phantom shook his head as Nick stood and the wolf tilted his head down as Addie jumped on one of his feet clicking and chucking his tongue between grinding his teeth. The wolf looked back to the fox blinking as Nick smirked looking at the tiny rabbit who was no bigger than his foot. The wolf dipped his paw down and watched wide eyed as the child hopped into his paw and continued chattering away. He shook his head as he turned and saw the white vixen staying out of sight as she cast her eyes to the side and he turned back smiling at the fox. The two had a rather long conversation as the wolf kept petting the little rabbit in his paw, shocked that he was so friendly with a mammal he had never seen and seemed to have a good grasp on what they were discussing as he kept putting his two scents in each chance he got.

Phantom blew out a heavy breath as he looked at the rabbit Nick was holding and shook his head as he looked back the direction the vixen was still holding herself in darkness while she chewed her lip nervously. The wolf stopped and looked off as if considering something rather impeding before looking back to the fox and giving him an almost fatherly shake of his head. The two were on par with each other as far as their social standings were concerned, just at what would be considered different political levels. Nick shook his head as he chirped at Addie. The little buck hopped back to his shoulder and Nick handed Judy to the wolf. Phantom sighed as the doe tried to shift in his arm, looking over her head he sighed and shook his head as he closed his eyes. Nick had just placed her life in his paws, and as dangerous as it was to allow someone into their tribe from the outside, after knowing what she had done to save the fox who was the guardian of their people he cinched her to his chest before he belted out a howl calling for help from the inner circle of their village.

Several species seemed to pop out of nowhere and Nick cupped Addie in his paw as he knelt to one knee as they whisked her away. The wolf standing in front of him sighed and stuck his paw over the top of his head before Nick stood again and dipped his head slightly as a way of thanks. Wolford, Snarlov and Oz stepped into the clearing and Nick snarled when he caught their scent and turned with raised hackles as Phantom stuck a paw on his shoulder shaking his head. All three wolves froze as Nick clamped his jaw several times and Jack had sucked in a lung full of air he couldn't exhale as Oz let him down. Phantom walked to the buck holding a dead gaze as the buck stumbled on one foot and fell to his knees in front of the massive wolf, throwing himself into a bow as his head hit the ground. The wolf looked back to see Nick turn his head and sigh as the white furred vixen covered her mouth with her paws still staying in the shadows.

In all the time Oz had known Jack he had only seen him lose his emotional calm once before. It had been brief and fleeting. This was on a level he didn't think the buck was capable of as he fell apart in front of the large Dire wolf in front of him. Phantom looked back at Nick and the fox cinched Addie to his chest as Wolford and Snarlov looked between them and Oz. The dark furred wolf was keeping an eye on the fox when his shoulders fell and he walked into the shadows pulling a white furred vixen from the darkness. Phantom turned grinning and Oz smiled when the wolf placed his massive paw on the top of the bucks head. Jack froze before he lifted his head and pulled his eyes back into focus as he leaned up on his knees. Phantom stepped to the side as Nick pushed the white vixen in front of him. Jack looked up at her trembling and reached for her face, brushing his paw along the scar over her cheek and eye before she fell to her knees in front of him curling around him.

Wolford and Snarlov both looked at Oz shaking their heads as the buck and vixen both lost themselves in a heated kiss with tears streaming down their faces. Nick rolled his eyes as Phantom cackled again and walked off in another direction with Addie shaking his head leaving the wolves and rabbit in the circle before he disappeared into the mist of the jungle. Snarlov tipped a brow and leaned into Oz as he shook his head. "They're mates?! I thought they couldn't talk to each other?!" he whispered as Oz chuckled.

"My Skye," Jack whimpered as she leaned into his neck.

"Love transcends every barrier pup. He hasn't laid eyes on her in five years." Oz smiled as he watched them leaning their heads into each other and losing themselves in the vision of the one in front of them.

A small fox came from the underbrush and Snarlov went wide eyed seeing the large headpiece he was wearing along with the massive staff he was carrying. The wolf barked out a laugh and Phantom sucked in a breath as the little fox jumped forward sweeping the staff along Snarlov's legs and knocking him off his feet onto his back. Wolford jumped back wide eyed as Oz bit his tongue. The wolf yelped and threw his paws up over his face as the little fox landed on his chest baring all his teeth and growling in a voice that vibrated his bones. "You laugh at him again and I guarantee he'll bite your face off." Oz touted as the small fox narrowed his eyes. Snarlov cinched one of his cheeks up and nodded as the fox jumped from his chest still snarling. "That's Goliath. He's a fennec fox."

"Goliath?" Wolford asked as he looked at the small fox again. "Why didn't you guys just call him Finnick?" Oz laughed as the small fox turned to Phantom. As soon as he opened his mouth they both understood the name. His voice was so deep even with the odd sounds he was making in the same clicking and chucking patterns that it may as well have been coming from the largest elephant they had ever seen or heard. "He is their Shaman." Both wolves raised their brows as Oz chuckled again. "Spiritual leader, healer, guider. These are the only members we have met. Skye is one of the guards with Piberius. From what we've gathered there are several layers of defenses and she is the second line."

"So, what's the deal with those two?" Wolford asked in a low voice as he watched Jack and Skye still captivated in each other as Phantom and Goliath were having a deep conversation.

Oz sighed as he pulled the wolves to the side. "What Jack considers his biggest mistake. He wanted to show her the world. So he took her out of here thinking he could take her somewhere isolated and special after she chose him. They made him part of their tribe because of it, but he never got past their second line because when he left with her it almost got her killed. As careful as he was it somehow got leaked or someone spotted her. Obviously Milo. They almost killed her and he hasn't seen her since he brought her back. Piberius wouldn't allow it after he found out what happened to her. Since he is the one that is the guardian I guess he felt like he failed her too by letting her go. I guess things have changed since he has seen how the world out there works now."

"Well where is Hopps Now?" Wolford asked as he looked in the direction Nick had vanished into.

Oz sighed as he shook his head "That is a very good question…"


	17. Blood Lines

Judy’s eyes couldn’t focus on anything. There were too many colors, more of green than anything else and oddly shaped plants for her to gain her bearings as she was carried along still trying to figure out whose arms she was in. Her vision was blurry and picking up nothing other than obscured shapes. Every once in a while she would get a clear vision, but none of what she was seeing made sense as everything seemed to rush by in a blur. The doe had tried to lift herself several times and protest at the movement but fell silent as an unknown growl vibrated through her chest and left her nose wiggling in fear. It was contradicting the fact that whoever was carrying her had pulled her closer to their chest and was holding her in a way that almost felt… familiar. When the light that was forcing her to keep her eyes squinted and searching vanished she tried to shift again only finding herself wrapped tighter and closer against the warm fur she was being cradle against. The scent of moss and stone had her blinking as the smell of earth finally settled and sent her into a calm she only knew under the borough of her own home as she closed her eyes and felt herself being laid down on something soft and cool. The throb in her head made her groan as she was shifted and her ears tried to set as the sounds of so many feet and unusual noises echoed in what was obviously a closed in space. The temperature change and smell had a subconscious thought register that they were underground and a shiver raced through her as a cool breeze ruffled over her fur.   
The warm feeling of being cradled again had her ears perk and she knew even though she couldn’t see that Nick had curled around her trying to keep her warm, his scent was strong enough to recognize as she curled into his neck. It was the unusual rustling of her clothing that had her squeaking and sent the fox into a state of agitation that had several of the odd sounds she was hearing getting harsher and echoing off the walls around them. She felt him huff before she was gingerly pawed off to someone else’s arms trying to cling to his fur before he was gone. The feeling of having someone tugging at her pants had her squirming and trying to back away until she felt the firm paws of a larger mammal grasping hers and pulling them to her chest. The doe froze as she felt another mammal press their forehead to hers still trying to see through the darkness. Her sense of smell wasn’t that great, but as soon as the other mammal had pressed their fur against her nose and she heard the same sounds Nick had been making coming from a much higher pitched voice she was blinking trying to see through the darkness. His mother? As soon as she stilled the face she couldn’t see in front of her tilted her head to the side letting her feel the warm smile that was creeping through her muzzle.  
The doe settled back and listened trying to catch all the sounds and make sense of anything as the Vixen curled an arm under her neck and was running her paws all over her head as if to examine every part of her. All the noises she was hearing were like the ones Nick had been making, but at a much softer level. The sounds, the voices…female, they are all female. There was some kind of unidentified ruffling that had her trying to crane her neck, but the fox currently holding her stilled her movements as her clothes were removed. Judy let her head rest over the arm it was on as the vixen holding her was petting her ears and cooing in a similar manner that Nick had done with her little brother. Addie, where is Addie? A sense of panic set in realizing he had not been with Nick and Judy tried to sit up but was wrapped tightly and still trying to struggle until she felt a sharp sting through her shoulder and a heavy heat raced through her body. Something bit me! She went limp and was only half aware of the cool feeling of large leaves being wrapped around her to cover her modesty. She let off a weak whine and found herself lifted and encompassed in the same familiar arms that had been carrying her before she curled into a ball and let the vixen wrap around her tighter, closing her eyes at the sensation of her gently petting her ears. Something her own mother did when she was younger and in need of attention when she was feeling uncertain….  
Oz, Wolford and Snarlov watched as the small fox talking with Phantom waved his staff around and ground his teeth after Nick had disappeared. Jack stood with Skye, finally recomposing himself as the vixen stayed at his side watching the exchange between the two males in front of them. The Arctic vixen tilted her head and Jack watched with a tipped brow as she cringed pulling one of her shoulders into her neck before looking back at the wolves behind them. The small fox was waving his staff around and the wolves looked at each other perplexed as Goliath finally ground to a halt when the large dire wolf in front of him growled and bore his teeth. Something that made all of them flinch as it wasn’t socially acceptable in Zootopia or the world abroad with how society had come to be. Predators had a tendency to keep their teeth hidden even when they were eating, showing them off was an offence that landed you in jail just as quickly as threatening someone with your claws. The small fox didn’t back down from the larger wolf, but whipped his head to the startled wolves watching and narrowed his eyes growling until they landed on Jack.  
The buck squared his shoulders and stood taller as the small fox approached, locking his jaw and eyes with the smaller predator as the Snarlov and Wolford looked to Oz. “Uhm, what’s going on?”   
The darker furred wolf tipped a brow watching Goliath lift his staff and point it at the striped buck, only for the rabbit to bow his head slightly and look back at them as Oz blinked a few times. The wolf looked back and saw Nick coming back from where he had vanished looking between the two as the red fox stood clinching his jaw watching. When his paws landed on his hips and the smaller fox looked back between him and the larger Dire wolf Oz folded his ears back and dipped his head. “Ears- put your ears down now!” he whispered glancing back to see Wolford and Snarlov both dipping their ears back and following the motion of lowering their head and tucking their tails to the sides of their bodies. Skye had turned her eyes from them completely and both wolves noted that Oz had followed the motions of the vixen standing next to Jack who had let his ears drop and was keeping his eyes on Nick.  
Oz kept his voice low and tried not to shake his head. “We don’t know how everything works with them, but we do know those three are in charge. If that vixen does something submissive, follow it to the letter.” Oz kept his eyes low as he watched between Nick and the other two Alphas who were now staring at Jack. The rabbit sighed and cast his eyes to the side as the fox looked him over, then glanced back at the wolves and vixen before returning his attention to the small fennec fox in front of him. The large headpiece he was wearing was slashing through the air as he seemed to be admonishing the fox for all he was worth. Nick looked back to Phantom tipping a brow before he narrowed his eyes seeing the large wolf looking off as if trying not to laugh or get involved. The red fox curled his lip and his teeth flashed before he cut into a roar that had the small fox wide eyed with his head tilted back in astonishment.   
Oz Looked to see Skye wide eyed as Jack turned his head while Wolford and Snarlov were both standing with their fur on end. Phantom turned his head and swallowed his odd chuckling as Goliath stood there with his eyes twitching. The small fennec fox looked Nick over again shaking his head when he lowered closer to him and leveled one eye on him before a sly smirk split one side of his face. Goliath blinked a few times before he belted out a laugh that was half clicks and half sounded like a bellowing bull before he wacked the red fox over the top of the head with the larger rounded end of his staff. The red fox acted like he got pummeled as he turned to hide his smile while rubbing his head. Wolford and Snarlov both looked to see Oz standing there dumbfounded. “Err, what just happened?” Wolford asked as he looked between Jack and Oz. Jack stood there keeping his eyes locked on Skye as she gaped at the three.  
“I have no idea. Looks like they were having a disagreement about something. As far as we have figured those three have to be in agreement when it comes to what goes on in here.” He motioned to Jack keeping his voice down, “It took them months to decide on whether or not to let Jack become part of the tribe. So I have no idea what would cause this.” Jack looked back at them, his ears having caught the low conversation and shrugged. They all turned their heads as the three standing at the center belted out a howl unlike anything they had ever heard. Jack clapped both paws over his ears as the wolves tipped back and Skye looked as if she might collapse with the guffaw on her face. The vixen stepped closer to the rabbit as a swarm of new sounds cascaded around them and Oz, Wolford and Snarlov looked around warily as the air began to shift.  
“What the hell is that?” Snarlov asked as he looked around the trees that had suddenly come to life. All their fur stood on end as their ears set, feeling eyes on them from everywhere as they scanned into the trees still not seeing anything. Jack lifted both ears tilting his head as Skye scooted closer to him. The buck and wolves froze as several growls shot from the thick and Nick turned curling up one side of his lip before yipping several times. Several predators shot from the greenery and were encompassing the group as they all stumbled into each other stunned into silence. While the majority of the mammals surrounding them were foxes and wolves, there were several other types of canines they had never seen. Dark grey fur spotted with black and rounded ears sat prominent on two who were openly baring their teeth and digging their hind claws into the earth in an open display of power. Several others were a yellow tone with blocks of dark brown and what looked like a thick muff of fur wrapped around their necks when their fur had all puffed out in another display of territorial dominance. Another had fur as red as Nick, but a longer snout and legs, with a similar puff of fur that grew down his shoulder around his neck and much longer fur.  
Oz was studying intently having forgotten the wolves behind him when a yelp tore through his awe and jerked his head back to see Snarlov pinned to a tree with a growling maw in his face as he clinched his eyes shut and fought not to whine. Wolford stood frozen as the other canine leaned in close to his partner when Oz stuck a paw on his shoulder. “Don’t move, don’t make eye contact and don’t make a sound.”  
Oz turned his head slowly when he heard Nick and Phantom growl. The small fennec fox next to them had lifted his head with a snarky smile watching the wolf pinned against the tree. The red fox took one look at the Dire wolf who almost shrugged before he marched forward and landed his muzzle in front of the tan furred/spotted canine holding the white wolf by the throat against a tree. Several cut off growls, and yips that were accompanied by aggravated ticking and another little roar and the other canine had looked back at him defiantly before curling a lip and dropping him to the ground. Oz held a paw out shaking his head slightly as Snarlov attempted to stand, the white wolf froze and kept his eyes locked on Oz until the other predators around them had started to move away cackling as Nick rolled his eyes. The wolf stood slowly clutching his neck and took the few steps back to his friends when Wolford dipped his head low. “What did you do?”  
Snarlov shook his head rubbing his neck “I just looked at him!”  
“Her.” Oz cut in trying not to laugh as Snarlov shook his head with wide eyes.  
“No-definitely a him, and don’t ask me how I know.” The wolf shivered as he ran a paw down his leg where the other canine had pressed into him and frowned.  
Oz chuckled lowly as he bit his lip “Her, what she is wearing is the same as Skye, definitely female. She’s is a hyena, and don’t ask me to explain it either.” This only made Snarlov curl his brow further to confusion as Oz kept his eyes locked on a rock. “Try not to make direct eye contact.”  
“How the hell do you know what they are?” Wolford asked as he kept his eyes facing the dark furred wolf.   
Oz shrugged “I figured there were more species in here, just never saw them. Wasn’t sure what they might be and I specialize in biology so I have done a lot of research. So far I have seen four species of wolves, eight species of foxes, wild dogs, hyenas, skunks and that. Suddenly I think I know how and why they all talk and sound like they do.”  
“That?” Wolford asked. His face was pulled back to Oz as he attempted to turn and look around.   
“No direct eye contact.” Wolford nodded at OZ as he kept his eyes forward. “Bats, two species I think. Fox bats and vampire bats.” Oz turned his head when the fox clutched his shoulder a watched as he directed Jack to follow the Dire wolf. The dark furred wolf quirked a brow as Jack looked around as if he were confused as Skye wrapped an arm around him before he was limping beside her while all the predators around them bristled and kept them within arm’s reach.  
“Jack? What the hell is going on?” Oz asked as he took a wary glance around. The buck shook his head and kept his eyes locked on Skye who kept peeking at him nervously.  
“You expect me to know? They are leading us into the inner section and I’ve never been past this one.” They all stopped when the arctic vixen in front of them stepped to the side and motioned for Jack to stay beside her. The buck was watching her carefully as the fox who had been following Phantom disappeared only to return a few minutes later wearing something similar to what all the others had on. The pants he had been wearing were gone and in their place was something nearly identical to what he had been wearing the day he was found on the Hopps farm. A simple cloth that twisted around his waist and covered essentials and nothing else, the males all wore the same attire while the females seemed to have something similar but with large leaves that looked like cloth covering their upper bodies. Oz twisted his lips in astonishment as several species popped from behind the stones they were standing in the center of, gaping at the site of children, males and females of all ages gathering around the outer edges of the stones that formed a circle as a red furred vixen walked out from another area carrying the Hopps doe in her arms as Nick stood at the center waiting.  
“She’s injured!” Wolford tried to step forward only to find several growling maws and claws threatening as he stopped cold.  
“Don’t make any sudden movements.” Oz looked to Jack who was locked on the scene unable to blink. He glanced back at the wolf shaking his head.  
“What’s going on?” Snarlov whispered as he glanced back at Oz.  
The larger wolf could only stare for a second before he shook himself. “I’m not really sure. This is similar to what they did when they accepted Jack into the tribe at the other structure similar to this one we were just at, but seems more…personal. It was only Jack and Skye there when it happened along with Piberius, Phantom and Goliath. Maybe it’s different because it is Piberius. I think the whole tribe is here and Jack wasn’t allowed to come into the inner section of the village until after they had…uhm...well. He just never got this far. I’m not sure why they brought us in here either.” They all watched as the small fox came to the center after the vixen and several other females had stopped in front of Nick holding the little doe as his mother dipped to her knees and seemed to help Judy stay on hers in front of them.   
“What’s wrong with her?” Wolford asked watching the females around Judy trying to keep her steady by holding her arms. Oz shook his head trying to get a better look and watched as Phantom held out a bowl handing it to him before Nick was on his knees in front of Judy.  
“I can’t tell from here. She looks drugged, eyes are a little cloudy like she….” Oz tipped his head to one side watching the vixen next to Judy clutch one of her arms and keep her other paw on the back of her head. “I think she has a head injury. The way she keeps swaying like that and the glossy look of her eyes, but I really can’t tell.” They all watched as Nick took the bowl from the smaller fox and Wolford flinched as the fox cut his palm open and squeezed the blood dripping from his paw into the bowl. The small fox took it and was mashing flowers into it with some kind of stone before he stepped behind the doe and sat it behind her before dipping the end of his staff in it as they leaned her forward slightly with Nick catching her face in his palms. Judy groaned as Nick dipped his face to hers and brushed his muzzle against hers. The doe closed her eyes and relaxed into his palms as he leaned back up smiling at his mother.  
The small fennec fox took a few steps back and lifting his staff before laying it against the back of her head, leaving a blotch of whatever was in the bowl on the back of her head. The vixen and other canines holding her helped her lean up again as Nick put his claws on the back of her head, covering them in the dark fluid. The wolves standing next to Jack and Skye looked at the buck with raised brows after seeing the fox run his claws through the sides of her cheeks and over the top of her head, leaving very similar black lines along her cheeks that Jack bore. The process was repeated over several parts of her back and body, legs, paws and arms before she was laid down as Nick stood up watching her eyes fall closed. Jack shook his head as he watched Goliath repeat the same process with her ears. It had taken several years for them to allow him into the tribe and Judy had managed to gain entrance in less than a couple of weeks.  
“Jack,” Oz tilted both ears forward as the buck looked back at him shaking his head.  
“This is different Oz. Not like with me.” They all suddenly had paws or sticks poking or prodding them to move again as the vixen picked up the doe from the ground and headed back through another area. Each of them were taking in the sights of the forest as they came to a large lake that had steam billowing from the heated water. Their heads all shot up when the wings of fox bats and vampire bats could be heard flapping over head in the only area they had been in where there wasn’t a large canopy of greenery above everything. Nick stepped next to the vixen holding Judy as Phantom stuck a paw on his shoulder and Goliath stepped beside the two looking over the doe again before nodding. The vixen held her out watching as Nick took her gingerly before wading into the steaming water as he held her in his arms. Every mammal there froze and went completely still as Nick turned in the water holding her close to his chest as he stuck his nose in the air. The fox’s chest filled out and muscles tensed before he closed his eyes and wrapped his jaw around her face, encompassing her mouth and nose before he disappeared under the water.  
Jacks little group jolted as a loud howl went through all the mammals around them before they all turned and disappeared back into the densely wooded area.”WHAT THE HELL?” Wolford shouted as he tried to step to the water. “What was he doing? What is he doing? They’ll drown if they don’t come up soon!” The wolf stepped back when several predators around them growled as they stepped in front of them blocking his path with the threat of several pikes pointed into his chest. He looked back seeing Jack shaking his head as Phantom reappeared motioning for them to follow behind Skye.  
“We don’t have a choice.” Jack kept his eyes locked on Skye who was still supporting him as he walked with a heavy limp. They followed Phantom and Oz blanched when they were led in to a little village made up of underground dens and small cottages with straw roofs or caves closer to hills in the mountain…..  
The dark furred wolf sighed as the fire crackled looking back around again as the food cooked. Wolford and Snarlov sat there shaking their heads. Jack had stayed close to Skye since they had arrived three days ago. The buck had fallen back into his usual persona of not showing much emotion with the exception of his open affection to the vixen who was just as enamored with his company. “How the hell can they just let them… they just act like nothing is wrong!” Wolford almost growled but bit it back as several large wings in the trees above them flapped.  
“There’s nothing we can do about it Wolford.”   
Snarlov shook his head after Oz had made the statement. “Well why the hell won’t they let us leave? Obviously they are dead after not coming back up from the water!”  
Jack sighed before he shrugged. The two wolf cops glaring at him as he leaned into the vixen. “Maybe death just isn’t the same for them as it is for us. We don’t know how much of anything works for them with the exception of what we have seen since we got here.” The buck looked to Oz who looked back into the fire before looking around the primitive surroundings.  
“The noises they make, the sounds. They are all from each different species. It is possible that they were together before they ever got here or it just developed as a natural speech pattern between the species after arriving. They’ve been isolated for ten thousand years and were persecuted long before then. The clicking is from the bats, howling and growling from the wolves, yipping and cooing, the odd barks are from the foxes. Cackling and the way they laugh is from the hyenas. It is possible at some point there were cats here because of how they roar and growl in certain patterns. The only ones that don’t make a lot of noises are the skunks, but it doesn’t seem to affect their ability to communicate. They’re all canines except those three species. I’d imagine the way they eat is the same way. They just picked up things from each other and had to do with what was available.” Snarlov and Wolford both shook their heads and shivered as a small bat flew by, watching it landing on one of the painted dogs and cringing as it bit into his arm.   
The darker furred wolf chuckled. “I guess they had to figure out how to work together to survive. I don’t see why it bothers you so much, doesn’t seem to bother any of them. If I could get a handle on how each language works I might be able to decipher it after a while. That little one picked it up quick enough. Maned wolves, dire wolves, Red foxes, Grey foxes, Corsic foxes, fennec foxes, painted dogs, hyenas, skunks, two kinds of bats. I‘d have to research the others though.” Wolford looked over shaking his head at the little black bunny buck Oz pointed to who had been clinging to the vixen and the red fox tod who had been caring for him while they had carried Judy to the water.  
“He doesn’t even seem upset. I guess that’s normal for someone like him though.” Snarlov said as Jack deadpanned him.  
“Someone like him? I think he understands what’s going on better than we do. Skye doesn’t seem too worried about it either.”  
Wolford rolled his eyes. “Why do you call her that?”  
Oz chuckled as Jack lowered his ears. “Says she’s the air he breathes.” The buck scowled at him as Wolford and Snarlov chuckled.  
“You’re just a big ol’ bunny aint ya Jack?” Snarlov teased as Jack glowered at him.  
“Bite me,” Jack growled.   
Wolford snickered as Snarlov sat chuckling and pointed to Skye. “I don’t think she’d like that, because you might if how you keep watching her teeth is an indicator.” The rabbit slumped back into the vixen and rolled his eyes sighing before he shrugged when she rested her muzzle over his head and wrapped around him in a content purr. The wolves were all snickering at him when the Arctic vixen’s nose twitched as her ears set. They all shot up when they heard a low howl and jerked as Addie popped in front of them grinning with a large red furred fox.  
“GID ON!” the little buck exclaimed as he pointed to Jack and the large boned fox in front of him. Skye helped him stand, and pointed to the fox who dipped his back and landed on all fours as he crinkled his nose.  
“You want me to get on his back?” Jack asked as the little rabbit bounced in front of him motioning to the blue eyed fox who was grinning. When Skye scooted him forward the buck groaned before she helped him climb onto the large foxes back. “I think I preferred Oz’s back to this.” Jack complained as they all started following the large fox with Jack on his back while Addie hopped beside them. “Well thanks for the ride Gideon.” The large fox stopped tipping his ears to the little buck grinding his teeth in front of him before he was cackling and tilted his head as if to acknowledge the rabbit on his back before he stopped staring at the large dire wolf and small fennec in front of him. They watched as the vixen that had been tending the little rabbit joined them before they traveled up the side of a steeper ravine and stopped at another pool of steaming water as all the mammals that had been in the village gathered around. Oz gaped at the sight in front of him and Wolford, Snarlov and Jack were all open mouthed. Nick stood at the center of the pool of water with Judy in his arms, petting her ears as she rolled her head lazily in his arm.  
“How the hell?” Wolford guffawed as the fox lifted his head noting everyone’s presence. The fox had streaks of similar stripes in his fur that were almost unnoticeable as he left the water. Jack looked back to Oz with a tipped brow and shook his head.  
“Maybe a cave system in the mountain that connects the two higher and lower points. The stripes I’d have to say it’s the blood maybe mixed with whatever kind of flowers and plants they were using. That’s why it was permanent on your fur Jack, and now hers. I’d imaging that whatever it is it is used as a rite of passage at a certain age for any member in the village to be a tribe member. Something like that isn’t uncommon practice for existing tribal communities that are still around in other parts of the world. It just doesn’t show up in their fur patterns like yours because it is part of how they evolved. You have got to give me a blood sample Jack. I can’t explain the water. Might have some kind of salts in like it like Epsom and there are a lot of old legends that say certain types of minerals in water will help with healing things and swelling, but I’d need to take a sample to check it.” The wolf looked over Judy as Nick handed her off to the same vixen. Jack tipped his brow as the fox started clicking to the one he was still sitting on as the vixen seemed to look over the doe and was smiling as she shifted in her arms.  
The two red foxes were having a conversation of some kind as both wolves looked back to Oz and Jack. They both shook their heads as the vixen lowered and Addie hopped onto Judy’s chest. The doe was still dripping as he nuzzled under her neck. They all tilted their heads as she started nudging around his nose with lazy movements. “Where the hell did they go? They’ve been gone for almost three days.” Wolford asked watching as she fell into a deep slumber.   
“Doesn’t matter. She’s alive and so is he. Doesn’t look any worse for the wear.” Jack shook his head and shrugged as Skye stood beside him watching when Nick stepped back to Phantom as Goliath was nodding his head in approval at whatever they were talking about.   
Oz looked her over before he shrugged “Looks a little…sedated maybe. Her eyes look normal, she’s just moving a bit sluggish like she relaxed and tired.”  
“You don’t think they…” Snarlov flinched as Jack reached up and flicked his ears.  
“No you idiot,” Jack hissed with a deep frown and shook his head at the wolf. “If there is one thing I do know about foxes it’s that- that won’t happen.” Wolford and Snarlov glanced at each other before returning their attention to the buck still sitting on the large foxes back. Jack rolled his eyes as the fox he was on turned and they all started following them back as Nick stayed close to the vixen keeping an eye on Judy. The fox was grinning and petting Addie as he stayed perched on his shoulder chattering away. Jack was grumbling as they all got back to the fire and returned to the food they had left. No one complained as it was set back over the fire to be reheated. Jack shook his head at the two wolves who kept glancing back at the little bunny the vixen was still keeping an eye on as Addie hopped all around Nick. “It won’t happen unless she accepts something from him and then she initiates it. That’s how they are. From what I have understood the males run things in here, but the females are the ones who get to decide what happens in that regard. At least that is how it worked with Skye.”  
Oz sat up chuckling as he looked around. “Might be a thing that crossed species boundaries too. Ancient stories talk about how the vixens were in charge when it came to families, and hyenas were the same way. Cats were a lot like that too. I’d be a little surprised if that’s how the wolves here worked, but it is possible. After seeing how they have all adapted at living together and communicating over the last few days, it’s not that hard to imagine.” Jack shrugged as Skye leaned into him nuzzling her nose against his chest after they had started eating. The wolves were chuckling as she ran her claws down his ears watching him trying not to shudder. He shot them all a snarky grin when he stood up and they watched her help him disappear into a den not far from where Nick was carrying Judy as Addie latched onto his tail following behind them. The skunks started to disappear into the huts, several of the other species of canines vanished into the caves along with the smaller bats, while the larger bats all settled into a canopy of old leaves and branches that had been woven together in the trees above them.  
Oz sighed as he leaned back and rested his head in his paws behind him. “Might as well get some sleep guys.” Snarlov jumped as a growl from behind him yanked his attention away from the fire. The white wolf cringed as the same Hyena from their arrival narrowed her eyes on him before she disappeared into the cave behind them. Oz chuckled when he turned back shivering like he had a chill. “I think she likes you.” The white wolf stared at him blankly before he shook his head and rolled over next to the fire huffing….  
Judy woke to the sensation of rumbling and her fingers clutched into thick fur. She opened her eyes blinking when she felt Addie nudging under her chin. She couldn’t remember much about anything that had happened or how she got where she was. The only thing she was certain of was who she was with. Memories of what seemed like stars didn’t fit with the scent of moss that was lingering in her mind. The confusion was swept from her mind as the fox wrapped around her shifted and she felt his head lean away from where it had been resting over the top of hers. The doe looked up trying to see through the darkness and let out a squeak as her stomach growled. Her cheeks lit up even further as the fox cackled and Addie shifted on her chest. Nick stood up and light poured through where he had been holding his back against the opening to keep the wind out of the small area. Addie darted out and Judy sat up, feeling a bit of dizziness as Nick helped her crawl out of the den. The doe was met with several large eyes staring at her as he helped her stand. She crinkled her brow seeing Wolford, Jack, Snarlov and Oz turn their heads. The doe squeaked when she realized she was only covered by leaves that had been wrapped around the essential parts of her body.  
Snarlov stood up keeping his eyes trained to the other side as he took off his shirt passing it to her as he kept his eyes tilted to the other side. He was the smallest among them and it was a secondary though giving her his shirt, but for some reason it garnered a great deal of attention from the other mammals watching as Judy took it and thanked him before slipping it over her shoulders as she hid behind Nick. She rolled her eyes as the fox in front of her seemed to be chuckling as he kept his tail hiding her while she wrapped it around herself before stepping out and looking at the little group around the fire as she swam in the large shirt. She didn’t care as she let it hang and had to pull the sleeves up to hold the sides so it wasn’t dragging the ground.  
When her stomach rolled again her ears fell over her face as Jack chuckled and motioned for her to grab some of what they had been gathering and bringing to the group. Oz watched her intently as Nick stayed at her side keeping an eye on her motions and catching her the few times she stumbled. The wolf shook his head as he stood and sat next to her while Jack pawed her over a crudely made dish that was shaped like a bowl with several different types of mushrooms, onions and a few things she wasn’t sure of as she looked at all of them curiously. Oz motioned to the bowl she was holding. “I’ve checked it all, we’ve been here for a few days and have eaten a lot of what they have brought us. It’s safe.”   
Judy looked at him wide eyed as he kept craning his neck looking her over. “Days?” she asked as she stuck something in her mouth not caring what it was as her stomach rumbled again. Addie was picking through the things in front of them as Judy stared at the wolf. Once she had emptied the bowl in front of her Nick filled it again as he sat next to Jack and Skye. She looked at the food curling her brow watching as Nick started eating. “I thought you said they didn’t share their food?”  
Oz shrugged as Jack looked off in another direction. “I think they made an exception because of you. They’ve been feeding us since we got here. The foxes anyway. I’m pretty sure the vixen that was taking care of your brother and the one that has been keeping an eye on us are his mother and brother, they all smell alike.” Judy looked around seeing several different kinds of mammals shuffling through and watching them as Addie slid beside her. The doe let her ears fall as Nick leaned over closer and nearly touched his nose to hers. Her face lit up and Jack was chuckling as she shot him a nasty look when the vixen and blue eyed fox took seats around them.  
“That is Gideon, the vixen we have all been calling Madam.” Judy looked to see all their eyes trained on her as Nick slid closer making her blush deepen again. It only got worse as the two other foxes seemed to be laughing in approval watching as he kept petting her ears. Addie hopped into his lap drawing his attention to the small buck as Oz leaned over again.  
“Do you mind if I look you over? We really don’t know what happened to you and you were gone for a few days.” Judy nodded and lifted her arms as Oz reached for her, squeaking as she caught the first glimpses of the lines in her fur on her paws. She had been in such a rush to put the shirt on she hadn’t even noticed them.  
After nearly hyperventilating as she tried to rub them off Nick had pulled her into his lap holding her still while Oz and Jack explained everything. Her ears sat ramrod as she tried not to fight getting out of his arms again while Oz seemed to be examining everything he could openly see. “They are permanent?” she asked as her brow curled. Jack nodded as Judy looked back at Nick unsure of why he had done it. The question was answered as soon as Jack moved a little closer keeping the weight off his ankle as he scooted along the ground moving away from Skye. “They made you part of the tribe Judy. You are considered their family now.” Judy’s whole face flushed as Nick rested his head on hers between her ears, a light rumble rolling through his chest as Addie hopped into her lap startling her again.  
“You mean they think I’m his, and he already thinks I’m his….. I have been alone with him for days and I don’t remember what happened…”  
“No,” Jack shook his head and Judy’s whole body relaxed as her ears set on the buck, she let off a heavy sigh even though Nick was still keeping her wrapped in his arms as she held Addie in her lap. Jack blew out a breath before he looked back at the wolves and pursed his lips. “He may be affectionate, but he won’t approach you like that. I may have been a little misleading with what I said. I was trying to get you to help and I thought it was the only way you would help as angry as you were at the farmhouse. He doesn’t think you are his mate. He thinks you asked him and accepted the idea of it, but you have to accept something from him and then be the one who…starts things. I’m pretty sure they have a set amount of time they follow for courting. It has been hundreds of years but another rabbit in my family mated with one of the tribe and stayed here after the fact. We didn’t have all of the details. The fact that he marked you means you have initiated something with him and that he is interested. It just tells others there is a rival around. Skye did the same things with me. He knows rabbits can’t really do that. It seems the females here are the ones who get to do the choosing and initiating how the relationships work and get started.”  
“She is your mate?” Judy asked as she watched the vixen petting his ears. The buck nodded as Judy lowered her brows, curling her lip and fought not to growl as Jack flinched. “You lied? You liar! I would have helped if you had just explained it! I really don’t like you.” Nicks arms slid around her tighter as her muscles tensed and Judy huffed as she folded her arms over her chest when he held her keeping her from moving.  
The buck nodded again and watched as the wolves glared at him. “Yes, I am aware and you have every right to feel that way. But I had good intentions. I just wanted to get him home before a lot of mammals started noticing him and try to figure out what happened.”   
Judy rubbed her temple as Addie nudged under her chin again. The doe looked down seeing her brother looking back and forth between the clicking foxes before he hopped to the vixen. She shook her head watching as he crawled all over the older vixen who was cooing and petting him as he rolled around before her tail wrapped around him lifting him and sitting him in the other foxes lap. The blue eyed fox with bangs was cackling in their odd laugh as Addie started nudging under his chin and playfully nipping at his neck. Jack sighed as he scooted away from Judy and she glared at him before he cast a glance to see even Oz was giving him a nasty look. “I’m sorry Miss Hopps. My family has been their guardians along with the wolf pack in Zootopia for hundreds of years. I just didn’t want to fail them again.”  
“Again?” she asked as Jack lowered his head glancing at Skye’s face.   
Oz scooted closer after Jack had moved back with Skye and Judy slumped under Nicks chin as he started looking her over. “How are you feeling?”  
Judy turned her head and shrugged, “A little light headed and I was starving, but fine.”  
“I’ll explain everything I can Miss Hopps. I think you should try not to get too worked up about anything though. You don’t appear to have any significant damage, but you were injured somehow and if possible we need to try to get back to Zootopia tomorrow where I can examine you properly. We also still have to find out what happened here and what is going on there. That is, if they will let us leave now. But I’m fairly certain the reason they made us stay was because you are here.”  
“No one has come looking for us?” Judy asked as Oz turned her head to the side noting the small scar at the back of her skull.  
“No, and I doubt it would do any good if they did. We did tell them we might be gone for a month and support won’t come unless we call for it again. They have all been on high alert since we got here. Or maybe they are always like this. But there are always at least a dozen of them watching us, and then there have been little groups of them coming and switching places, coming and going from the direction we came from. The bats keep circling the canopy and they seem to be switching at certain hours like they are tense and on guard. I’ll tell you about the different species here too. Goliath and Phantom disappeared right after Piberius took you. They are the other two who run things with him. We haven’t seen them since right after we got led into the village. For now I suggest you just relax and let things go their own way. I doubt we will be doing much until they return because they don’t seem to make any decisions without talking to each other first.”   
Judy tried to get up and squeaked as Nick curled his arms around her pulling her closer to his chest. The doe looked over her shoulder with a twitching eye as he tilted his head and lowered his muzzle before running it along her cheek and giving her an eye that screamed ‘NOPE!’ just before he licked her cheek. He laughed again as her mouth fell open and she shoved his muzzle away giggling as the group around them snickered. “I think he has the same idea.” Oz moved back to his place as Judy shook her head watching as the foxes who were entertaining Addie kept glancing at them grinning. “Dumb fox.” She muttered as he stuck his nose on her cheek smiling. The odd cooing he was making had her ears tinging pink before she laughed and shoved his muzzle away again.


End file.
